My Daily Bread

Posted by: Megan Sweitzer, Social Media and Podcast Coordinator | Monday, November 17th, 2025 (12:00am)

“Be still, and know that I am God.”—Psalm 46:10

This year, I made it a goal to bake more bread. I’m not quite sure what inspired me to begin this feat. I guess I’ll just say it yields a delicious snack and that’s motivation enough. When I started, it quickly became something I loved to do. I enjoyed being in the kitchen, creating something, and learning how to make a new recipe. It’s been months since I made my first batch of bread, and I still love it, but I’ve noticed this practice has imprinted something special on my life: baking bread slows me down.

Now, I’m not on the sourdough kick yet, where you commit to what seems like days of creating one loaf (if you have tips, let me know, I’m scared to try!), but for the recipe I follow, it takes around three hours to take the yeast, flour, butter, milk, salt and turn it into a warm, golden brown loaf. Simple ingredients come together slowly to create something nourishing, not just for my body but for my soul. I’ve realized that, as I wait for the yeast and water to come together, for the oven to preheat, for the dough to rise (two times!), I’m learning to be still. One can’t rush bread. I can’t make the ingredients come together quicker than my mixer can go. I can’t rush the warming of the oven or the time the dough needs to rest. And ultimately, I need to slow down. I need to be present. Like the dough, I need to rest too.

As my days are full with work, church commitments, friends, grocery shopping, and getting dinner on the table in time, I desperately need space each week to just...be. The rhythm to make a loaf a bread stops me in my busyness and gives me time to breathe, grow, and expand in my faith.

The simple truth to “Be still, and know that I am God” has rung true to me this year with every loaf of bread I’ve made. When I am still, when I am quiet, when I slow down enough to be with the Lord, I’m reminded that He is always at work. He is my Creator. He is pressing and stretching me, shaping me, and molding me into who I am meant to be. It’s the reminder I need that God moves in the slow and ordinary moments. When I let go of hurry and rest in His presence, I can know that He is breathing life into me—slowly, patiently, perfectly.

So while baking bread started as a fun goal for my year, it’s become a small act of worship in my home; giving me the capacity to rest, to breathe, and to be still. My soul longs for the space to be with my Creator, to know Him as my Lord and Savior, and to trust Him with every moment. So when I feel that tug to keep up, to do more, to be greater, I know it’s time for me to bake—because in the kneading, resting, and rising, I see that God’s work in me is patient, intentional, and wonderfully sustaining...just like bread fresh from the oven.