The One About the Rainbow Baps

The first crafty post to usher in the new year is ironically a project I made when I bid farewell to my colleagues when I moved to Japan last year.  I wanted to leave the portals of my former school in my usual artsy, crafty demeanor and give something to my friends that they, hopefully, will look back with fondness to.

I had just been bitten by the bread-making bug back then.  At the prodding of my husband, I had bought a cookbook from a gold mine of a secondhand bookstore and began my love affair with floury baps and whatnot.  In between kneading this glorious hunk of dough, I thought of my student days when my classmates and I would munch on peanut butter or cheese pimiento or ham sandwiched between two slices of rainbow bread. 

And so I thought, if I wanted to give a gift with an air of delightful nostalgia, what can be better by taking my friends down a trip on memory lane and gift them with rainbow bread?

And so I got to work.

I used a floury baps recipe and tinted batches of dough with rainbow hues.  They turned out lovely.  Baps has a chewy and somewhat tough artisanal texture so it was nothing like the light and airy pan de sal we are used to.

I packaged each rainbow bun with my virtual identity.  Along with each bun was a card I designed and a handwritten note (Can I just say that I looove writing notes by hand!) inside next to what I’d like to think was a witty and clever typed message.

Everything went so well together beautifully.  When saying goodbye is difficult, doing it in an artful way somehow makes it so easy.

The One About Purposeful Pursuit in 2017

When 2016 rolled in, I had every intention to follow a grace-filled life.  Glorifying busyness in the previous year resulted to neither productivity nor progress as far as my goals were concerned.  I was exhausted and burnt out.  Allowing God’s grace to flow freely into my life provided serenity, peace of mind, and a sense of fulfillment even from – curiously – not being able to accomplish everything in my to-do list.

This year, I plan to continue relishing in the gift of grace everyday.  However, I want my theme for the year to have an element of action too.  A word that will have a graceful undertone but embodies determination and strength as well as a sense of progress toward my goals.

I cannot think of a better theme for 2017 than this:  PURSUE.

Pursue a grace-filled life:  to be intentional and purposeful in every action I take and to focus on God’s direction at all times.

Pursue progress, not perfection.

Pursue what is meaningful even if it means not having more.

Scrolling through my social media feed, I cannot help but feel pressured with all the posts on hitting the ground running at the onset of the new year.  It’s quite okay to start slow, isn’t it?  In fact, there is really no need to rush when I know that the dreams and goals that I’m pursuing are the ones that really matter.

So here’s to a purposeful pursuit in 2017.