by Cristina Grau
CHEA of California is happy to welcome Cristina Grau, www.ahomeschool.com, as a Homeschool411.com blog partner. This is the first of series on the names of Jesus.
What’s in a name?A name is more than just something by which we are called; in a sense, it is our reputation. A name can conjure 
up images of glory, honor, and grace. It may cause sadness, anger, and dismay. Yes; a name is a powerful thing.
Did you know there are a multitude of names for God? Each name unique and powerful; the list is endless. In hopes of helping our children have a better understanding of who God is and all He means to us, the next few weeks will be dedicated to teaching various names by which He is called.
Join us on this exciting adventure through Scripture, where we will learn some amazing verses, talk about how those verses should affect our lives, and discuss some practical ways to make these names “real”.
The Bread of Life
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty’” (John 6:35).
How many people in the world are going hungry tonight? Some are needing physical nourishment, but far too many are needing spiritual sustenance as well. When Jesus came to earth it was to meet our needs, both physical and spiritual. In John, we read of Jesus’ promise to fill us.
To begin, let’s take a look at the importance of bread. Bread is a staple of dietary life. One can survive on mere water and bread alone for quite some time. Bread plays an important part in both Jewish and Christian history; bread is broken during Passover, was poured down from heaven, shared at mealtimes, and prepared in a specified manner (unleavened).
Here, in the book of John, Jesus has just fed the people and yet they are clamoring for more. Jesus is trying to remind them that they need to look beyond their mere physical needs and wants; looking to things of the Spirit.
During the Christmas season, I want to focus on sharing this same concept with my own children. Instead of worrying about the things they want, I want them to focus on whether or not they are taking in enough of God’s Word. Are they reading daily, praying daily, and seeking Him in all areas of life? By coming to Him daily, their spiritual needs will be met and they will never feel empty or “hungry” again.
To reinforce this principle, we spent some time making fruit cake It’s easy and super tasty.
Fruit Cake
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup currents
1/2 cup each (dry cranberries, blueberries, cherries, and apricots)
1/4 cup candied ginger zest from one lemon zest from one orange
1 cup rum
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. all spice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
10 tsp. (1 1/4 sticks) butter
1 cup unfiltered apple juice
1 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 cup toasted, crushed pecans
Soak dried fruits in rum over night (or nuke for 5 minutes in microwave). Place fruits in large pot; add spices to mixture. Bring to a boil; add butter, apple juice, and sugar; reduce and simmer for five minutes; set aside to cool for fifteen minutes.While cooling, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.Add flour mixture to wet mixture. Once incorporated, add eggs and pecans. Mix well. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour (or until an inserted stick comes out clean).To prevent your cake from “cracking”, add a shallow pan of water to the lower shelf of your oven during cooking.
(For those of you who dislike using alcohol in your cooking, feel free to emit this. However, please remember the alcohol itself is being cooked out in the process, no actual liquor is being consumed; this is for flavoring purposes only. For those of you who might not care to try fruit cake, you could always make a Happy Birthday Jesus cake.)
Copyright 2013. Used by permission of the author. Originally appeared at www.ahomeschoolmom.com, December 2, 2013.
Cristina Grau is a homeschooling mom of four. She began homeschooling in 2003 and is now serving asYearbook Editor of her private school satellite program. She currently writes a blog, A Homeschool Mom.