Bread Of Life
Jesus is the bread of life and taught His disciples how to pray
He began with "Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Give us this day our daily bread..."
Jesus said, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never
hunger; and he that cometh to me shall never thirst."
What is the true bread of life? True bread is the word, will and work of God.
"Back of the loaf is the snowy flour;
Back of the flour, the mill,
Back of the mill is the wheat and the sower
and the sun and the Father's will."
~Maltbie Babcock~
Above: Willie Randles Perry
Jennie Randles Purkapile
Both were born in Missouri, sisters of Roxie & daughters
of William Randles
Picture Credits: Twilla Hart
John, the son of Abraham Randles Sr.,"treaded the dismal forest in every direction visiting every mill within thirty miles of home." Quoted from Hill's History Of Coshocton County, Ohio, Its Past and Present. In the evenings the scriptures would be read by candlelight in the little log cabin. Afterwards Abraham would entertain the family with his old and well polished violin. Though John remained in Roscoe, some of his siblings traveled to Missouri.
A trip to the mill was quite an event in the life of a farmer in days of old. Since only a few bushels of wheat or corn could be ground in an hour, this left plenty of time for swapping news or to see who could catch the biggest fish.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, mills were powered by water in creeks or rivers. In a flour mill, water flowing over the mill wheel was converted by gears into the power to turn one of two burr stones. Kernels of wheat were then ground between the two stones. The grinding removed bran (the outer husk) from the wheat kernel, and then crushed the inner kernel into flour. Dr. Noah Williams, built a Flour Mill in Owensburgh, Indiana at a cost of $6000. Later, President Grant appointed him U.S. Gauger for the Seventh Congressional District. Dr. Noah W. Williams was the son of Noah and Achsah (Randles) Williams and was born August 1, 1826 in Roscoe, Ohio. William Randles developed the desire to own a mill during his visit with cousin Noah in Indiana.
Today, not as many mills remain and bread making is becoming a lost skill. A freshly baked loaf of bread brings back warm memories of my childhood and all the sacrifices made for me.My father saved and planted heirloom seeds. We would thank God for the harvest. Mama kneaded and baked bread with love.We looked forward to her warm bread from the oven after school. And I can not deny the satisfaction of sitting down with all the family
present and enjoying a great meal with salad and fresh bread.The kitchen is the heart of the home and food can build traditions and memories.
Randles Mill At Roxie Missouri
Copyright © 2006 - 2010 Linda Randles
http://www.RandlesStation.com/
Water powered grist mills were of importance across the country. The mill town of Roxie, which is eight miles southwest of Poplar Bluff, Missouri was named by William Randles. William was the son of Eliza & Abraham J. Randles Jr., they also moved there. Roxie, Missouri had an old grist mill on Cave Creek between Poplar Bluff and Bay Springs Church. During the Civil War it was operated by a Mr. Harrison, by whose name it was known. Later it was owned by Thomas M. Lane, who had come from Georgia to Butler County in 1869. Lane lived on a farm near the mill, then Tubbs Mill. Later, William Randles who was born in Ohio, came to Missouri from Indiana and bought the mill. He got the post office established to which he wished to give his name.Mrs. Ollie Randles, daughter-in-law of William Randles, explained that her husband, Martin Randles, then a small boy, offered the name Roxie for his little sister who had died a short time before. Read the story of Roxie here. William's "Uncle Jimmy" Tubbs owned the mill in 1886, before William Randles acquired it. Roxie was on the old road from Poplar Bluff, Missouri to Doniphan. Twilla Hart ( a descendant of William) has enjoyed many childhood visits to Roxie.
The years of operation for the Roxie Post office were 1891 - 1907. William Randles (click on thumbnail picture below) was the first Postmaster of Roxie. Picture credit goes to Darlene Hastings of DeSoto, Missouri. Thanks.
This is my own recipe for wonderfully easy bread. Remember to add just enough flour when mixing or kneeding to give the dough an elastic consistency. Unbleached King Arthur's Flour recommended. Fresh yeast makes much better bread than dry yeast.One .6 ounce cake of Fleischmann's yeast is equivalent to 1 envelope of dry yeast. I bake my bread in glass pans for even browning. After the first rising, punch down thoroughly, divide and roll a rectangle of dough about two inches wider than the loaf pan. Now fold about 1" per side of dough edges in to make the bread fit in the pan. Roll bread dough up and place in the well greased pan for the 2nd rising. You can also create heart and wreath shapes. A loaf of freshly baked bread is a wonderful way to reach out to others and bless them in a meaningful way. Be creative with your gift and add a few scriptures. You might also include the recipe, pan and a serrated bread knife for slicing. Below is a bread gift tag that you can right click and save to your computer to print out later.You will find more tips for bread making here.
Linda's Easy Bread
Small cake yeast 1/2 c. warm water
2 & 1/2 T. sugar 1& 1/2 tsp.salt
1 cup milk 1 c. boiling water
2 T. Crisco 2 T. butter
4 cups Bread Flour 2 cups Whole Wheat
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of very warm water. Sprinkle 1 T. of the sugar over this. Let rest. Combine the next six ingredients.
Stir until just very warm. Pour into the bowl of yeast. Stir in Bread Flour and then Stone Ground Wheat Flour. Turn out on about a half cup of flour and knead 3 minutes. Grease the bowl and turn dough into it. Place greased plastic wrap over bowl. Let rise until doubled - about one hour. Punch down, shape and place in 2 greased loaf pans. Let rise again. Bake at 350. Rotate
from bottom rack to top once.
 | ||||
| ||||
Cry out for your heavenly Father to feed your spiritual hunger for the true bread of life, the hidden manna. Allow Him to bring it to you in whatever form He desires. An opportunity may come from a stranger knocking at your door. It may be served by a hitchhiker you pick up. Cry out and reach out! He may send an angel. He may send His Presence. He may catch you up into the clouds. He has many ways to feed us our daily bread. Create some warm memories with the bread of life. Music playing is Beautiful Valley, as performed by David Larch.
