The soil in my garden is tilled and the tiny plants are growing….a few days before the dirt was hard full of weeds and not ready to recieve the tiny plants with fragile roots.

As I begun to clear out the debrie I was reminded that my children’s hearts are like this soil. Sometimes it is hard, and as parents we have to till it.

We use God’s word, His passions and convictions and we pray that the Holy Spirit can help the seeds of Godliness grow.

Sometimes there may be a whole season of “Heart tilling” before we see any fruit. In those seasons we have to be diligent and stay strong clinging to God’s word as we endure long days of discipline and discipleship.

This is where I find myself with one of my children. A child with a strong will that can be strong in the Lord and her passions if guided biblically. A child that has taught me grace, patience, and mercy. A child whose heart needs constant care…with a gentle but firm hand… just like the soil and the tiny plants in my garden.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

“And thou shall love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your mind and with all your soul. And these words which I command you this day shall be in thy heart and you shall teach them diligently unto thy children. And you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you sit down and when you rise up.”

As a mom to little (and sometimes big) ones that are watching…what we say, what we do, how we react are all like seeds that those who are watching catch.

Sometimes those seeds are good, other times they are not so. Either way these seeds can grow in their hearts are produce habits of godliness or habits of sin. My heart was broken and I bowed my head in front of my garden box, hands full of dirt, praying for the Lord to give me wisdom and asking for forgiveness for not being careful with the hearts of the little ones around me.

I needed His guidance, His strength and the power of the Holy Spirit to care for these children in such a way that will bring my King honor. These are all His children and he knows the way to each of their hearts!

As I pondered for a moment, on my knees in the dirt, my littlest came up to me with a handful of dandelions.

“Mom you are the best mom in the whole world, I picked these just for you!”

My heart skipped a beat, a blessing of his tender voice in the midst of laying myself at the foot of the cross….

“Oh these are soo beauitiful! Thank you!”
I replied.

You see in our home dandelions are not considered weeds….

~they add beauty throughout our home when placed in a Mason Jars

~they are perfect for Jam (Dandelion Jam)

~they are perfect reminders of how many seeds we as moms we can plant in the hearts of those around us…especailly when blowed in front of the face of a giggling child!

~and they are one of our favorite ingredients to add to breads!

Today I would love to share with you the recipe to our “Dandelion Bread” and hope as you see these beauities throughout your homefront it will remind you to plant seeds of godliness in the hearts of all those watching you.

(*The picture above is a loaf of regular bread (NOT GF) since we made a few loafs to pass out to friends at church)

To make GF Dandelion Bread you can simply follow the recipe on the back of the Red Mill GF bread mix adding the dandelion seeds to the dry ingredients! 🙂
” Dandelion Bread”

Ingredients:

4 cups of flour 1/2 vegetable oil

4 teaspoons of Baking powder 3/4 of honey

1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs

1-1 1/2 cups of dandelion seeds 2 2/3 cup of milk *

*we used Coconut milk since we are trying to go Diary free*

How to prepare Dandelions:

~Have kids pick them from yard

~Cut stems off

~Exam for any creepy crawlies 🙂

~Rinse gently as you would anything else from the garden

~Hold petals and cut nub off

~put yellow seeds in a bowl (small green leaves are ok the line the seeds!)

Cooking Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Combine dry and wet ingredients separtly. Then mix together untill well blended. Pour batter into two greased bread pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check for doneness…if not quite done lower temp. to 350 then cook at 5-10 minute intrevals until done.

Side note: Makes your house smell simply wonderful! Great with homemade jams of all sorts or can (toasted or fresh from the oven) and makes a unique earthy french toast!!

Many Blessings,

Dawn