4 hours ago
I recently started baking sourdough - by recently, I mean this week. I’ve made other types of bread for years, but sourdough seemed more scary than other varieties of bread. A friend who is an avid sourdough baker gave me a bit of her starter, and it propelled me to figure out what to do with it.
One lovely thing about sourdough is that even while still in the (very long) rising (proofing?) phase, the entire house smells like baking bread. It adds a coziness to our home, and an anticipation of good things to come. The kids peek in the oven, they ask when it will be finished, and we all practice patience as we wait for each step of this long process to be completed.
This morning, I woke up early to pull lumps of dough out of the oven after they had been rising overnight. I folded them a few times, I floured a couple of towels, and I popped them back in the oven for a final proofing before baking. Then I sat down and finished reading (A)Typical Woman by Abigail Dodds.
I was first intrigued by the idea of sourdough after reading another book by Dodds, but (A)Typical Woman was not about sourdough or other domestic pursuits. Rather it is about what it means to be a Christian woman. This is an incredibly broad topic, but one that Dodds tackles with skill.
The first part of the book addresses what it means to be a Christian woman in Christ. First, we are women, made to be women on purpose. We cannot separate our identity as a Christian from our status as women. Dodds says:
“When we opt to see our womanhood as merely an aspect of ourselves, we make it small and inglorious, sometimes condemning it to a silly caricature. We actually degrade what God has made; we degrade ourselves.” pg. 37
God made us women for a purpose, and though we are called to the same things all Christians are called to - holiness, more Christ-likeness, etc. - we are called as women, and we have certain tasks and roles meant for us as women as well. Dodds challenges the assumptions that different means somehow inferior, and lifts our concept of what it means to be Christian women as something glorious, that God created intentionally and beautifully.
The second part of the book covers all the different things women do and experience, and how we are called to glorify Christ in those roles and circumstances. There are chapters on being single, being married, being a mother, being a working women (outside the home), being strong or weak, being dependent, being afflicted. Dodds offers rich and wise encouragement for all these circumstances, pointing us to Christ through every possibility.
“How do we become mature in Christ? Maturity is a path through suffering with Christ. As much as we wish to spare ourselves and our loved ones pain, dear sisters, we dare not rob them of God’s blessing, that is, the realization that He is the true light ‘when all other lights go out.’ God’s blessing is Himself.” pg. 128
Throughout the book she calls us to look to Christ, to depend on Him, to seek to be more like Him, to glorify Him through being faithful in all circumstances. There are challenges here for wrong thinking and calls away from sinful attitudes, but the overall trajectory of the book is to point us to Christ and call us to live out our calling as Christian women in fellowship with God and the people in our lives. This book is beautiful and uplifting, and I think any Christian woman who reads us will find her heart more fixed on her Savior - which makes it very worthwhile.
“May you, dear reader, find your deepest delight in being what He made you and being found in the One who saved you. There is more joy to unearth and more good to unleash and more comfort to take hold of in the Savior who dwells inside you than this finite, fallen world can contain.” pg. 147
As I set aside the book for now, and go to prepare my bread for the final baking, one of the many beautiful messages from (A)Typical Woman resonates in my heart - that everything can be done with gratitude as an offering to our Savior, and of all the gifts He has given me, the greatest is Christ himself.
Note: I received a copy of (a)Typical Women from the publisher for review. This is my honest opinion.
On The Page {Anything I’ve Read}
{Bits of many books.} I’ve finished a decent number of books in the last month, and the end is in sight for several more…and none of them have been reviewed or shared yet! Despite my best intentions of sharing books more often in 2025, it just hasn’t worked out that way. Keep an eye out for a reading wrap-up coming soon, but I’ll briefly mention that My Dear Hemlock will be making this year’s favorites list.
In My Armchair {Projects I'm Working On}
{Writing more again.} More on this further down the page, but after months in survival mode, it is time to develop my writing habit again. I miss blogging, but I also have an urge to experiment with other types of writing. I have no solid projects to report, it’s just something I’m thinking about.
{Sorting through clothes.} We are fast approaching the time of year when I need to switch out the kids’ winter clothes, and it’s always a ridiculously large project. I have been putting off donating some of the kids’ cast-offs, so that will be happening in the next couple weeks.
{Pushing ahead in our math books.} Alot of my extra energy lately has been spent on pushing my kids to finish their math books early. Math has truly been the bane of my existence this spring, and I’m ready for us all to be done with it. We can hopefully use our extra homeschool time on art projects or something before summer break. Final math exams will hopefully happen this week!
In The Kitchen {Things We Made}
{Sourdough starter in my fridge.} Technically, I haven’t actually made any sourdough yet, but a friend from church gave me some of her starter, and it is waiting in my fridge until I do something with it this week. I’m not going to lie, I’m scared! But I’m also excited to see if sourdough is something I can add to my repertoire. I’m not expecting immediate success, because baking at high altitude creates a lot of variables.
On My Person {Things I've Worn}
{Spring-ish outfits.} Spring outfits are always a special challenge to me, since it could be 70 degrees and sunny one day, and six inches of snow the next. Here are some recent outfits.
In The Accounts Book {Money We Have Saved}
{Things I didn’t buy.} I don’t have anything amazing to report here this month, except perhaps a brief list of things I was tempted to buy but didn’t:
-Countless books I resisted (for school and otherwise).
-A swimsuit I added to my cart but never purchased.
-Multiple dresses and shirts I admired in the store without feeling an urge to even try them on.
-Jumpsuits and sweaters and pants I tried on, and then talked myself out of.
-Candles I smelled and then put back on the shelf.
I’d also like to give honorable mention to the self-restraint I showed when checking out Forever 21’s going-out-of-business sale - I bought things that my kids or I would actually use or wear, without going overboard just because an item was only going to ring up to $1.10.
Out My Window {Beauty I Noticed}
{Blooming trees and other signs of spring.} The flowers decorating the trees are really all I can think about this time of year…I find excuses to go to town so we can enjoy them. Up in higher elevations we don’t have flowers yet, but the grass has been poking through, the birds are loudly back, and we’ve spotted several robins pulling worms from our dusty ground. We actually need a few more snows or rainy days to avoid fire risk later, so I’m hoping to see some gloom in the forecast, but the sunshine has been truly glorious.
Out And About {Places We Went}
{Sheep Camp 2025}. The most exciting outing lately has been going to Sheep Camp at our friends’ ranch! I’m going to share more details and photos in a different post, so I’ll just include a couple here. The kids were each assigned a sheep to take care of during the two days we were there, and it was a lovely glimpse of what ranch life is really like. It was hard work, but satisfying for them, and full of more than a usual share of fun too!
{Homeschool Day At The Capitol.} I took a couple of my kids to a homeschool event at the state capitol. We had never been before, and it was pretty amazing to get to see the opening of a legislative session, explore our capitol building, and make our faces seen and voices heard to our representatives.
On My Mind {Thoughts I Want To Share}
{On taking a break from writing.} I feel the need to address the elephant in the room (at least it’s an elephant for me) - I have not been writing very much this year.
Our family has been going through alot that I am not comfortable sharing online, and while I know this season will pass, it has sucked all the creative inspiration out of me. I have found myself increasingly disconnecting from the online sphere and anchoring myself more to the real, physical world around me. Chores like vacuuming or folding laundry have a rhythmic comfort to them, batches of sugary cookies or warm loaves of bread help release the tension from my shoulders, sitting in the sunshine does wonders for my mood, and encouragement from friends or family members in a coffee shop or over the phone has been the refreshment I really needed.
So I’m not exactly apologizing for prioritizing those things over my blog, because time spent on the real world is never wasted. But I am sad to be so rusty in my writing habit, and I do miss some of my online connections - which actually are real too when there is a real person who cares to read on the other side. I can’t promise to have alot of high-quality writing at the moment, but I can say that I will get back to at least writing something regularly again, and that is, after all, half the battle.
In My Heart {Things I'm Treasuring}
{1} Snuggly dachshunds, forever puppies.
{2} The end of the homeschool year in sight.
{3} Finally having peace to make some summer plans.
{4} A trip on the horizon to visit dear friends.
{5} My mom, who took me out for coffee and a good talk when I was feeling overwhelmed.
{6} No real car troubles right now (we have been getting car troubles ever spring for several years now, so this feels like a reprieve).
{7} Woodpeckers - they sound like a jackhammer every morning, and they are causing damage to our house, but the fact that they are back is a signal of spring.
{8} Church friends to share encouragement - and gardening tips, and deals on produce, and sourdough starter.
{9} The right to homeschool, representatives who support us, and advocates who keep a watch over legislation.
{10} Resurrection hymns and songs on our speakers this week, as we look ahead to Sunday.
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