Pastor JD talks about the choice every single one of us face when it comes to choosing faith over fear.Resources: here
Watch on JDFarag.org
or watch on youtube
Tonight is Halloween…
So, I’m going to dress up as a Bible Believing Christian and watch Bible teachings today…oh wait, I do that every day anyway : )
Tonight, “Halloween”. So far, it’s a quiet evening in the country. Finally, after some cloudy and overcast days in a row, we can see some stars out. Venus is beautiful in the night sky. Was hoping to see some of those “northern lights” I was kinda expecting with the big solar storm but so far, haven’t seen anything like that. It’s probably over and past.
Most of the local trick or treat stuff / candy gathering was last night in my local area so not much happening now, even in town. (I’m not close so no one would be all the way out here anyway.)
So… I just got done making a small batch of wine. Will we be here to taste test it in about 3 weeks or so? Dunno. But I did leave a label on it should someone else come upon it after we’re gone. If we’re still here, I’ll have a small glass from time to time and think about the Last Supper, when Jesus had some with the disciples. Nope, I’m not a Jew. And I know it’s not exactly communion when I have a bit of wine. But I still think of Him when I do and look forward to the day when we all can drink from the cup that He has in mind. I’m sure His wine is so much better than mine anyway. 
Blessings to all! May His perfect love cast out all fear, tonight and always!
Making my own wine is something I’d love to do and yet I’m not quite that ambitious to actually make my own. My husband doesn’t drink wine so it would only be for me. It seems buying some would be a lot more efficient than making it 
It doesn’t have to be that hard. Some people make it rather tedious. And I suppose there are some wines that are not so easy to make. Mine is quite simple.
I start with grape juice. Just plain grape juice. It can be had in the typical 3 quart jugs that “Juicy Juice” and similar juice typically come in at the grocery store. I don’t want a lot of ingredients, just plain grape juice. I prefer red / purple rather than white but that’s just my taste. I’ve done both, and a few different kinds of juice besides.
Assuming I’ve bought one of these bottles from the store, I’ll pour a little out to make some room in the top of the bottle, maybe 2 cups or so. It’s not critical. Then I’ll add two things; 1) sugar, and 2) regular old bread yeast. The formula is: 1 quart of juice, 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of yeast. Adjust to how much you’re making.
I’ll shake the bottle up or stir if I’m using a glass jar until it’s all dissolved and the sugar isn’t sitting on the bottom and the yeast isn’t floating in lumps on the top. Then I put the cap back on the bottle or a lid on the jar that is loosened just enough to allow pressure to be released as it builds, and it will. But it does need a lid to keep bugs / insects and maybe dirt out of it. You can buy air locks and fancy lids, not necessary. That’s it.
I’ll then put the bottle in a warm, dark place. At my house, that’s in the closet with the water heater. I’ll check on it every day or two just to make sure the lid isn’t too tight. I’ll see bubbles in it for a few weeks. And when it’s done bubbling, maybe 2 to 3 weeks, I’ll have a little taste test. That’s usually about all it takes in my particular water heater closet. If the temperature is cooler, it’ll take longer. If it’s warmer, it doesn’t take as long.
Now you know my secret. Not much of a secret, really.
I did read about numerous kinds of fancy pants wine yeasts and picked out a highly rated one and got some. I then made about 4 or 5 different kinds, each having one bottle with the fancy pants yeast and one bottle with the bread yeast. Honestly, with the red / purple grape juice, I liked the bread yeast better. A few of the others were debatable. But, I also found out that the red / purple grape wine was actually the one I liked the best anyway.
I will admit, the one I just put in the water heater closet, I had a frozen grape juice concentrate in the freezer I wanted to try. Thawed it and added water. Put in about 1.5x the amount of sugar because I like a sweet wine. Stirred that and the yeast into a 1/2 gallon canning jar and put a lid on it (loosely). So we’ll see. The formula is pretty forgiving. You like it sweeter, add more sugar. You like it less sweet, add less sugar. I think it does need a little to give the yeast somethin’ to eat.
Probably more than you wanted to know. LOL!!
Just today I privately reached out to my dear brother and prayer warrior in Christ @Jon to discuss the fear and anxieties I’ve been plagued with and he prayed specifically that today’s sermon would be a unique message fitly spoken to both of us.
Wow…THIS is exactly what I needed to hear. Praise God for speaking thru our beloved Pastor to calm and ease my mind.
That’s quite the process or so it seems. Too much for me to think about, although really neat to read about the process. I think for now though I’ll just stick to store bought 
I had a good laugh when I saw the title of the message as I thought of our conversation and was equally thankful for the message too.
LOL!! I think it took me longer to type the post than to do it. 
