Living Life in a Stupor

     A stupor, that's what I have decided to call my attitude this morning, and yes, the past few weeks. I ask God over and over to fix my situations. “Take away this pain!” I beg of Him. It seems I cannot get past this wall, if you can call it a wall, in my prayer life. Somehow, I think that I will not truly be happy until He has granted my wishes. Whatever happened to “My thoughts are not your thoughts; your ways are not my ways”?  Discontentment settles in, lack of patience. Yeah, about that patience thing…never really been a strong point in my character. 

     While reading my Bible this morning, I kept searching for that moment. You know that moment too if you are a Bible-reading Christian. It is that moment in the morning when, after crying your eyes out the night before, you reach for your Bible, deciding that reading the Bible would still be the right thing to do.  As you begin reading a passage, all of a sudden you are overwhelmed, so overwhelmed, by the all-encompassing, never faltering, love of your God.  He speaks to you like you’ve never been spoken to before.  And in that moment you realize that God has always been there, even in your hopeless little situation.  For me, it was that oh-so-familiar verse that says something like “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”  This has happened to me more than once, and God has spent far more time than I deserved reaching for me, calling my name and desperately wanting my attention. 

     Back to my quest for the “moment” experience, something to wake me up and end my stupor. The stupor that involves wallowing in depression and longing for new adventures across the seas or finding that one person who will be everything I have ever dreamed and more. (Okay, reality check, I know.) My devotional book speaks of Jesus calling us to pull away from our issues and FOCUS on God (Young, 48).  However, selfish will still wants those worries and questions to be answered. Like right now. Yet, after remembering God’s goodness in the way He reached out to me, I see the truth of this call. We have to, no, we need to, focus on God. 
       
 So, even if God is calling me to bigger and better things,  I know  that right now, I am RIGHT WHERE I BELONG. And realizing that, I find peace.


Sources: Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, 48-49.

Nutritious AND Delicious??

  Hungry? Grab a bran muffin!

      No, seriously though, I wanted to make these because so often I am hungry, but everything around me is full of sugar and does not  do a good job of filling my stomach :). This recipe comes from an awesome elderly lady I met in Bangladesh. She is an amazing cook. I often think of her when I make these, and the comments she made about the doctor saying she 'needs more bran in her diet.' :)

    These muffins are perfect for a nutritious (and delicious) on-the-go breakfast. I like them best for an afternoon snack, especially when supper seems so far away...

• First, put 4 medium bananas in a Ziploc bag and mash them. (you need 2 cups)
• Add: 
• 3  eggs
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 cup fat-free yogurt
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• Mix those together, then add:
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 3 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups oat bran (or any other cereal)
• 1 cup medium-chopped pecans
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Put paper baking cups in your muffin tins then fill them 3/4 full
• Bake at  350 degrees. Toothpick check works best for these. Normally I say everything is better when slightly under-baked, but I have taken these out too early several times, so keep that in mind. 
• Pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee and go spend some time with God!

     Hopefully these can give you some motivation to be healthy! Lysa TerKeurst encourages her readers to think of weight loss as a positive, healthful choice, instead of denying yourself the food you are craving.  Cheers to a victorious week!