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HEALTH

Spiritual

My Prayer Bench-Revisited

I thought I would re-post this, as I’m enjoying company and have not had time to write.
I was over at Ann’s place today, and her post “How To Build A House Of Prayer” is a must read, and reminded me of how grateful I am to her for inspiring my own little area of prayer in our home.

I have found a spiritual mentor in blogosphere. Her name is Ann Voskamp and her blog is called “Holy Experience.” I have talked about her here, and continue to be a huge fan. The way she writes and experiences God just hits a chord with me. I feel she is able to put on paper emotions, feelings and thoughts I have but can’t express. She expresses her heart beautifully, I just jive with her! I am so thankful to have found her and can learn from her.

I’ve been reading through her series of spiritual practices with an eye out for posts on prayer. She, of course, did not disappoint. She’s written much about prayer, but this post made my heart yearn for what she had. She wrote about creating a space in her home specifically for the act of prayer. I finished reading the post with a longing for one of my own. A day later, I have one.
We have a landing area upstairs that tends to be unused space. I walk through it numerous times a day to get to my bedroom. It is a favorite space of mine, because of the many windows that allow light to stream in. Yesterday it was full of Christmas bins waiting to be put into the attic. Today, it is an intentional meeting place with my God. I had some time there with Him today. It was peaceful and I felt great anticipation of precious time to come. I had just finished that time when I received an email from a friend whose family is experiencing the pain of cancer. I knew where I would go to kneel and ask God to give them peace, and back up the stairs I went. I know I can pray anywhere, anytime, but there is something special about having a place, an intentional place.
For me:
  • It is a place that says “God, I want to meet with you”
  • It is a place that allows me to stop and kneel for sixty seconds in the midst of busy life.
  • It is a place that draws me to sit and stay, to meditate, journal, read and pray.

It is also place where others have been… John Piper writes…

“…when we bought our first home, I built a prayer bench with a place for my elbows in a kneeling posture, and a place for my bible to lie, and a shelf underneath for the Bible or other books and a notepad… There the prayer bench welcomes me every morning and several times during the day. God alone knows the tears and songs that have mingled there. I urge you to think creatively.

Seriously consider building a place of prayer…”

I considered.

I found:

  • A bench we have had sitting in our sunroom.
  • A basket given to me by my mom for Christmas.
  • A candle and matches.
  • Books, Bible and journal.
  • Pens and highlighter.
  • Rocks that remind me to “remember the works of the Lord.”
  • A pillow given to me from a friend.

And now I have a simple meeting place- A prayer bench. This post is linked to: Finer Things Friday @ The Finer Things In Life Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic House

Drinks/ HEALTH/ RECIPES

Masala Chai-An Indian Beverage To Die For!

I am sitting here is absolute Chai heaven.  Seriously.  I’m so happy about this recipe that I am smiling stupidly at this computer screen, and I keep taking my fingers away from the keyboard to take another sip–this post could take awhile because of this tasty distraction. It is sooooo good!

I have made 2 different Chai recipes in the last 2 days.  I liked the first one, but now that I have tasted this second one, I know I have the Chai Tea recipe that I hoped to find.  I’ve had Chai tea on my brain ever since a Friday night a few months back, when I stopped at one of our local Indian Restaurants.

The restaurant is called Taj Mahal.  I walked in to order take-out on a Friday night.  It was fairly late, so they were not busy.  The owner greeted graciously in his heavy Indian accent, took my order, and motioned to the bar showing me where I could sit and wait.  He headed toward the back, and before the door shut behind him I saw him grab a pan in an empty kitchen, which excited me, because it meant that he would be the one cooking our meal.  A few moments later, he returned with a teacup in one hand and a pan in the other.  He had made a complimentary cup of Chai Tea for me to drink while I was waiting.  I watched him pour the contents from the pan into my cup using a fine mesh strainer sitting atop of it.  As the pan emptied, towards the bottom were all kinds of interesting shapes and shades of loose tea, seeds, and pods; browns and greens.  I was intrigued, excited and touched by this man’s kindness.

cardamom pods

Needless to say, that cup of Chai was authentically amazing, and I have craved another ever since.  This is SO much better then the Chai concentrate that you can buy in a box.  There is no comparison!  I am quite pleased that it only took a couple of tries to find a recipe that comes very close to the cup of Chai that I drank at Taj Mahal.

The recipe comes from Sabra @ One Life To Eat.  It is a blog I just recently discovered on the basics of Indian cooking.  I can’t wait to explore her blog more, as I would love to learn how to cook Indian food!
I loved this post she wrote about Masala Chai.  She talks about memories of her father making it in the mornings and evenings, and some history of Chai tea.  She also had this to say about the different ways it can be made:

Every Indian you talk to will probably also have his / her own favorite method of preparing Chai. Variations include brewing the loose tea leaves in boiling water, brewing them in milk, brewing tea leaves along with spices (known as Masala Chai) and brewing the chai with pieces of ginger (known as Ginger or Adrak Chai). Some like their chai weak, some like it strong. Some like more milk, some less. 

Her process is simple and detailed at the same time.  Hers is thicker and flavored with ginger & vanilla.
I think it is perfection and my search for a Chai recipe ends here!

To make 2 mugs of Chai – You will need:
  • A medium sized saucepan
  • A small sieve
  • 4 heaped teaspoons Red Label or Society tea, available at any Indian store **I used loose Darjeeling
  • 1 inch piece of ginger root
  • 6-7 cardamom pods, slightly opened
    • 3 tbsp sugar (I used processed white sugar, going to try pure cane sugar next time)
    • 1/2 Vanilla stick (optional) (I used a splash of pure vanilla extract, added it at the very end)
    • 1.5 cups water
    • 1.5 cups whole fat milk
    Method:
    • Heat water to a boil in the saucepan
    • Add the tea leaves, cardamom pods and ginger root and allow to brew on medium heat till the water turns a golden brown color
    • Add the milk and reduce heat to low. Add the vanilla stick and sugar at this stage. Mix well
    • Allow the tea to boil gently and thicken on low heat for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the saucepan as the Chai may boil over
    • Turn off the heat and let the liquid rest in the saucepan for 2-3 minutes. This lets the temperature of the liquid come down a bit
    • Pour through a sieve in your favorite mug. (*or mason jar:))

Do not be intimidated by the exotic ingredients.  I took a quick trip to my local health food store, where they have bulk bins for the Darjeeling tea and the cardamom pods.  I had ginger root in my freezer, and everything else on hand.  I personally think whole milk is a must to achieve the creamy texture.  My only complaint about this recipe is that it doesn’t make more!  I would love to double or triple it and keep it in the refrigerator for a couple of days.  My first cup was hot, but now I am drinking it over ice and OH. MY. YUM!
This post is linked to:
Get Your Craft On @ Today’s Creative Blog

Spiritual

When You Feel Rejected- Count Fish

That is the title of Ann Voskamp’s latest blog post. I read her blog every day, and there are only a few of her posts that leave me with a dry eye.  She just touches my heart, and did it again today.  She finds truth within Truth that I never would have seen, then writes it beautiful.  I leave her space with the soothing music she plays in my head and His Word through hers, on my heart.  Once again, Ann, thank you.

FAMILY/ HEALTH/ Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ Natural Products/ RECIPES

Steps To Healthy Living

A few months ago I had the honor of doing a guest post on “The Mother Huddle.”  It was such an honor and I had great fun sharing my thoughts over at Destri’s blog.   Destri is a pretty special lady, one I consider a friend despite the fact that we have never met in person.

The guest post was titled “Steps I Have Taken To Bring A More Healthful Approach Into My Home.”

As the beginning of summer approaches, I am already feeling the pull of unhealthy choices when it comes to food.  BBQ’s, quick dinners at grandpa’s pool, lemonade full of HFCS, the ice cream truck…I don’t know about you, but for us summer brings a bunch more opportunities for healthful eating to go right out the window.  I do and will lighten up a bit during the summer when it comes to eating healthy, but I also want to keep in mind the good habits we have established and continue to pursue them.  Rereading the post I wrote for The Mother Huddle will help me do just that!

Steps I have taken to bring a more wholesome approach into my home:

We Follow These Rules:

  • Try to eat like our grandparents did, before convenience foods came about.
  • No high fructose corn syrup!  Studies show that this stuff causes confusion in the area of the brain that tells your body that you are full. It makes you crave more sweets! This is just one of many reasons to avoid it. Also, we found that it was triggering my youngest daughter’s asthma.  Since changing our eating habits, she is off all inhalers!  Yippee!!
  • No hydrogenated oils/trans fats and use only healthful oils (olive oil, coconut oil)
  • Think brown, not white (whole wheat flour, whole grain pasta, brown rice, 100% whole wheat breads, etc)
  • Stay away from foods if the ingredient list is long and full of words we can’t pronounce.
  • No more buying white sugar! We replaced it with natural sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, sucanat (rapadura), & stevia.

We Make Snacks Count By:

  • Making homemade treats containing ingredients that are beneficial to the body (we loveMudballs)
  • Having veggie fun! I cut up bright colored veggies into bite-sized pieces, fill a 6 cup muffin tin with a different vegetable in each cup, serve with toothpicks.  If I only have 4 types of vegetables, I’ll fill the 2 remaining cups with dip and toothpicks.
  • Eating fruit as our dessert.  I see my 3 girls (age 10, 9 and 7) eye the beautiful bowl of blueberries thawing on the table during dinner, excited to eat ‘em for dessert!  They also love frozen cherries, grapes, peaches, mangoes, melons, and pineapple.  We eat them all just slightly thawed.
  • Making homemade popcorn in the microwave using a brown paper lunch bag. My girls love this and do it themselves.  Big money saver!
  • Adding veggies to our fruit smoothies.  A large handful of fresh spinach disappears when blended into our sweet fruit smoothies.
  • Using leftover smoothies to make popsicles.  These are delish, and yes, they are the same smoothies that have spinach in them!  These type of real fruit/yogurt popsicles are so costly at the store.  Its amazing how inexpensive and easy it is to make your own!  If you don’t have molds, use paper cups and wooden craft sticks.
  • Staying away from empty calories–even treats can be beneficial to the body (dark chocolate, desserts with fruit/oats in them, ice cream topped with fresh fruit, whole wheat brownies)

We Are Going Greener:

  • We got rid of harsh chemical cleaners.  I use a vinegar and water spray for just about everything, and have simple recipes to make my own laundry detergent, dish washing detergent and liquid hand/body soap. (this saves us a TON of money, and I believe some of those chemicals contributed to my daughters past issues with asthma, so we are saving money on medical bills, too!)
  • We drink from reusable water bottles, keeping them in the refrigerator so they are cold and ready to drink.
  • We got rid of most plastic storage containers and use different sized mason jars instead.  I love how they look in my pantry, freezer and refrigerator.  They make it easy to see what is inside, and they look orderly.
  • If it comes in a package, I ask myself “Can I make this homemade?” It is almost always more healthful and saves on the packaging (pancake mix, granola bars)  I buy many ingredients from bulk bins and put them in mason jars when I get home.
Taking steps for more wholesome homes can be overwhelming, so be encouraged that these changes did not come overnight for us, nor do we do it all perfectly. We eat our share of junk food and sugar outside our 4 walls, (and even inside them on the weekends), so it ends up being about 80/20,
which I am comfortable with. It has been a step by step journey,
one I will never regret starting as I see such huge changes in the health of my family.

This post is linked to:
The Finer Things Friday @ The Finer Things
Home And Family Friday @ Home Is Where My Story Begins
Its A Hodgepodge Friday @ Its A Hodgepodge Life
Tips Me Tuesday @ The Tip Junkie
30 Minute Blog Challenge @ Steady Mom
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple

Spiritual

My Child Speaks Truth

I woke up, with a bunch of  “what -if’s” and “I should’s” and “I gotta do’s” on my brain.  Swirling around, affecting my joy.  I hustled the kids off to school and came home, walked through my dining room and looked up to see this note left by my 9 year old on our family white board.

She is really into cursive writing, and has going around the house leaving evidence of practice everywhere. I’m so glad she decided to practice this morning. This little note of hers stopped me in my tracks and gave me a priceless gift today–truth and perspective.

Khat khatao by Aradhna. “Aradhna” means worship.  
 The sounds of sitar and guitar merge to create a new global instrument that blends unusual rhythmic patterns with the dipping and soaring of the vocals. listeners sense a deep devotion and connection to the yeshu revealed in the holy scriptures.

Here is a delightful video of another little one speaking truth, a three year old singing about where to put our burdens.

Music Renews/ Spiritual

Remedy Drive – Rescue

Their MySpace is here. Their Facebook is here.

I had just dropped my oldest off at her art lesson, and was driving through her art teachers neighborhood, when I noticed a dad and his little one taking a walk hand in hand.  My first thought was, “How fun to see a father take the time to enjoy the beautiful weather with his child.”  My second thought was “that guy has a great haircut!”  Can you tell I’m a hair stylist?:)
Then I realized I recognized this man with great hair–he was David Zach, lead singer of “Remedy Drive.”  It was at this point where I told my 2 youngest girls who it was and they both freaked out (they are big fans) and twisted their little bodies around in their seat belts and stretched their necks up to peer out the back window.  We were at a stop sign so their peeking lasted a while and I had to smile at their excitement.
I, too, am a big fan of Remedy Drive.  There is so much depth not just in their lyrics, but also in who they are.   They are a band of 4 brothers, with crazy musical talent! My husband works with Dan Zach’s (the drummer’s) wife, and knowing her and her amazing heart makes me an even bigger fan of the band.
Remedy Drive just wrapped up the Rock & Worship Roadshow, where they toured with MercyMe, David Crowder Band, Family Force 5, Francesca Batttistelli, Fee and Sidewalk Prophets.  I would have loved to have seen that!
They just released a new video and song, and it is a good one!  It is called “Rescue.”  They wrote it with Dan Haseltine and Steven Mason from Jars Of Clay.  It features footage shot in downtown Nashville before the recent flood left the historic area devastated.

 

RESCUE LYRICS




It’s a bad sign
I get so good at faking
Looks like everyone is doing just fine
Meantime, the longing leads to aching
in the secret wars were waging inside
So we bow our heads, and raise our hands
We need something to hold on to
In these uncertain times
It’s an uphill climb
We’ve gotten used to crawling
It’s a lost design
It feels just like we’re falling
Some of the time the light comes like a rescue
If love is the line, there’s nothing we can’t get through
Look down at the city lights below us
Where everyone’s afraid to be free
Hold on, our weakness won’t divide us
If were following the steps we don’t see


The lyrics really spoke to me, and verbalized much of what I have been thinking about lately.  I’ve been thinking about what an amazing, beautiful thing it is when we are able to get real with each other and talk about struggles. How beautiful it is when one can lift another up. 
Have you noticed that it can make certain people uneasy when life’s struggles are talked about?  It is almost like there is this “no talk” rule, that we are to keep our problems or what we are wrestling through, to ourselves, and pretend that we have it all together and life is peachy.  


I personally think this is a sure fire way to stay stagnant in life.


I think of the Apostle Paul, and how often he got real in his letters and expressed “I do the things I do not want to do.”  I think of Kind David, whose cries for help and surrender, and admittance of fault and brokenness, fill the pages of the Psalms. They were real.  They were vulnerable.  They were public with their faults.  They understood they didn’t have it all together and were in desperate need of a Saviour.  
So why is there so much pressure, (often within the walls of the church!) to portray that we are doing ok? 

 Could it be that the enemy has convinced us that we are?  Or maybe it is fear, fear that others might find out that we don’t have it all together?  Or is it because we know we might be judged harshly by those we care about the most, those who have convinced us that pretending (or at least staying quiet about it) is the way to go?
I can answer yes to all three of those questions.

There is a reason why Jesus came and did what He did for us.  We are broken.  We are in need of a Saviour. We will not be perfect until we get to Heaven, so why is there so much pressure to be?  In my own life, perfectionism is something that has stalled my growth for years.  I see it now.  I am in the process of dealing with it and learning to live differently.  I am so thankful to have people in my life that do not expect perfection, and will call me out when they see me pretending. These are people who see that, as the song says, “Our weakness won’t divide us.”  If anything, the idea of keeping our weakness to ourselves is what will cause division.  When weakness is shared, it leads to growth.  When we expose our true selves, we are being honest with one another, and that is the place where the our rescuer comes in and shows us our need for Him, and we realize we are not alone.  







**I’m linking this post up to Gratituesday, because I am so very thankful for music that reminds me that when I am not doing fine, there is a Light that is my rescue.  It shines, and I know that I’m ok.


HEALTH/ Healthy Eating/ HOME/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

What I Buy and Why-Bread

I always find it fascinating to peek into other peoples grocery carts, while waiting in line at the grocery store, to see what they are buying.  So often I have wanted to strike up a conversation and ask about a product I see, and ask why they like it and why they choose it over another.  I get the same feeling when I open up other people’s refrigerators, I love seeing what brands of foods they buy, and often get inspired to try something new.

I have learned so much about food by asking my friends what they buy, where they buy it, and why they like it.  These conversations inspired me to start writing some posts on the food items I buy and why.  Not only do I want to share with you what is working for us, but my hope is, that in the comments section, I will get to hear from you and what is working for you!

Bread
Our Everyday, Whole Wheat Bread (either of the 2 below:)
If I Want To Treat My Kids To “White” Bread:
When I Want To Splurge:
*Disclaimer-I was not paid or compensated in anyway to promote these products.
It is important to me that our bread does not contain High Fructose Corn Syrup. (Read why here and here)  I also think fiber is very important, so I try not to buy bread that contains less then 3 grams/slice.  The “Oatnut” bread is what my girls call “the yummy white bread.”  It is really good, but I do not buy it as often because it has less fiber in it and uses enriched flour (although unbleached:)) where as the 100% whole wheat breads uses whole wheat flour, which does not have to be enriched, because nothing was ever removed in the first place.  I like that!
 You can go here to read more of my thoughts on making grains count.
What brands of bread work for you?  Have you switched to 100% whole wheat bread?  If so, was it hard on your kids?
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