“Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth…Instead, store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust don’t destroy and thieves don’t break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19-20
It was a good Christmas. We went back east to visit family, and it was great.
I brought some of my water kefir grains, which was quite a conversation starter. Since the airlines don’t allow liquids, I pumped my kefir up a bit for the travel by putting them in an extra sugary brew for a few hours. I drained that off and packed the grains into a mini-zip-lock bag, reinforced inside several other little zip-lock bags. By the time I arrived in Michigan, those little grains had produced quite a bit of “gas”; the zip-lock bags were almost to the bursting point, quite surrounded by a pillow of air inside the bag.
But they survived! I put the grains into a new jar of brown sugar water upon arriving at my brother’s house, and eventually, my sister-in-law decided she’d take on the project after I’d left town. I hope it works for her!
Over the holidays, what with my kefir grains ever-reproducing, I thought I’d bring some to my nieces as well. They’re into wholesome cooking and natural ingredients, so I thought they might be game to try brewing their own kefir as well. After the initial shock of hearing about how these live little “grains” convert sugar water into probiotics, going on to ferment (in the right bottle) into a “natural soda” of sorts, they were finally convinced. I’ve heard reports since my visit, that the girls are now brewing their kefir quite successfully, so I’m glad I shared with them.
During our stay in Michigan, I noticed a particularly striking, red barn-like shed in someone’s yard. What with its red color standing out against the surrounding snow, I thought it’d make a nice, inspirational picture. It reminded me of the verse from Matthew 6:19-20, about storing up our treasures in heaven. It’s good to remember that verse, especially after Christmas. After all, there isn’t really a gift (or “treasure”) around that compares with the simple joy of spending time with each other.
And now I’ve got a verse attached to one of my favorite winter pictures, to remind me of just that. I even made some wallpaper for my desktop, since it’s kind of fun to put a new picture up on it, that changes with the seasons. If you enjoy the verse and picture, you can click on the links below. They’ll bring you to the page with the extra-large images; all you have to do is left click on appropriate monitor size below, then right click on the image itself, and choose “set as desktop background”.