Why Living Proofed?
It’s a simple idea. One loaf of bread made, baked, and given away each week to an unsuspecting receiver. A passion project meant to be an act of obedience, discipline, and creativity. Meant to inspire and heal my soul. A yeasted mid-life crisis if you will. Where I am hoping out of the most basic ingredients, I can find meaning. To find a way to be a doer for things I care deeply about: generosity, a spirit of hospitality, and a sense of connection with people…And to share bread. Truly. Can you freaking get over how good bread is?
How did I get here?
Like most people, I wanted to find a way to combine the things I am passionate about with the gifts and the delights that God has given me. I wanted to find my place. A place where I was compelled to be doing something. A physical living example of the things I am passionate about. A place that I couldn’t imagine not being at. Living proof of what I love…or living proofed.
Why public?
Well, I will be the first to admit that in addition to loving baking, cooking, and having people over, I uh, well, really like my couch. More accurately, my behind on my couch. Netflix and chill? YES, please! So, in an effort to provide myself with a little public accountability, (remember discipline from above), I thought it would be a good idea to state publicly my intention. I also wanted to claim some small space of the interwebs with my little white flag. To say out loud what I believe in, and let the chips (crumbs?) fall where they may.
Why proofed?
Proofed is a baking term, something you do with yeast. It means testing your yeast, to see if it is alive and will make your baked items rise. So for my purposes, of course, it is great because I am making bread. But also, the idea that my life could be tested, to make sure I am alive, my beliefs are alive, and a reminder that we are called to make things better, or rise. Also, puns. Puns are awesome.
Why bread?
Well, first and foremost, I really do love bread. I always have and despite the current anti-carb craze we are in, I think bread can be good for us. I also feel like bread is such a basic pillar of our diets, and has been for hundreds and thousands of years as it played a role in the formation of societies around the world. It is a wholesome nourishing creation that can both sustain and satisfy us. We even have loads of sayings surrounding passing the bread or breaking the bread. They are all about being around a table and sharing a connection with other people through eating bread together.
Beyond the basics of bread being a cornerstone of our diets or providing physical satiety, we also have the concept of Jesus being the bread of life. Being a Christian, if I am going to share something with someone else, I want it to highlight the love that Jesus had for all people. When Jesus said “I am the bread of life” he meant that people who come to him are spiritually sustained in the same way that people are physically sustained on bread. I can’t imagine a more fantastic symbol of God’s love than that.