Manna, Bread, and Life!

Our daughter, Michelle, has undertaken another enterprise of late that has me singing her praises! She has learned how to make homemade sourdough bread and it is delicious! I have already been eating my fair share since receiving a sample loaf just a few days ago. I immediately processed it into thinly sliced servings and bagged them for the freezer. I told Monique that I was ensuring its freshness, but the real reason behind my madness was to discourage me from eating more than my daily allotment!

Sourdough bread from the 
 Happy Heart💗Home Bakery!

I love bread and have often said about it, “Carbs are a killer in our diets!” If there has been one carbohydrate that has challenged my target weight over the years, I believe it has been bread. This isn’t scientific, but just a hunch on my part! Maybe, it is me playing the blame game! The facts always surprise me and if you read around the subject, you will find assertions to the contrary. For example, Natalie Rizzo, a registered dietitian, says, “If there is one nutrient that has a worse reputation than it deserves, it’s the carbohydrate.” (prevention.com).

In truth, Rizzo calculates that, “Adults should be eating 225-325 grams of carbs each day!” However, all carbs are not created equal! There are healthy carb options that are high in fiber and promote gut health. Some of the best carbs are berries for breakfast oats and cereals, white corn and grains added to vegetables and salads, as well as pineapple, oranges, and apples for snack time. Lentils and chickpeas also made the list. Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, canned beans along with brown rice complete the mealtime, too!

Cook's assistants
measuring ingredients! 

Back to bread. My temptation is to splurge on it, but the saying, “all things in moderation” often comes to my mind too late. I would like to blame my bread addiction on the French since I married into the family. But even my sister-in-law was surprised during our last visit to Normandy by our bread consumption. She blurted out to her sister and me after a few meals at her table, “You guys eat a lot of bread!” And for a French person to say that is really saying something!😉

A year after their liberation from Egyptian slavery, the Israelites journeyed into the desert wilderness. Soon they complained to Moses that he had brought them to this desperate existence without adequate food and water. Even though their lack of faith angered God, He provided a nutritional food source that they referred to as manna. The people called it “bread from heaven!”

The Israelites described manna as being like small coriander seeds from which they would make flour by grinding it with hand mills. Then, they boiled the product in a pot and made it into flat cakes that tasted like pastries baked with olive oil. (Numbers 11:7-8). I don’t know how many carbohydrates were in that daily allotment of manna, but we know it sustained them during those 40 years of wilderness wandering.

I am so thankful that God still provides for our daily needs. While we have so much to eat in our part of the world, we know that there are many, even in our community, who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. We should always be an extension of God’s provision by giving our time and resources to feed others the bread they need for physical sustenance.

Let’s also share our story about Jesus, the Bread of Life, with everyone who needs Him. He is the Savior who changes lives by feeding hungry souls!

Mike Keppler, retired pastor,

active churchman and

doting grandparent.

Contact: drmjkeppler@gmail.com