So since the time has been manually adjusted I suppose it’s officially tomorrow and I can wish you all a very happy Easter!
I was raised in Romania, in the orthodox church so this is the song I associate with Easter:
“Christ is risen from the dead, crushing death with His death and giving life to the dead!”
May His light and the life He came to give shine bright into our lives, my friends!
A very happy, Christ-centred Easter!
This is a no-food post but it’s something God made clear to me through recent events. Because it’s Good Friday I thought it would be a great time to share these thoughts with you all.
Remember, I had a wee car bump a few weeks ago. Despite the fact that it was the most insignificant sort of collision you might have on the road(and the most fortunate, as no-one was injured in any way) I drove in fear for a week or so. I have always been a very careful driver, I had Emma with me when the bump happened so I was scared the same thing might happen again. In the end I prayed as driving was becoming very tiring and the fear left.
Then I had to sort the scratch itself. Thankfully I had very good insurance(hubby says) and they released repair funds this week and everything will be sorted next week. Plus I will have a courtesy car for the time my car gets mended, hurray!!
I was very thankful when they told me about it this week from the garage. And then I heard God speak to my heart and say: “Jesus’ sacrifice works exactly like your car insurance. An insurance is not there to cover damage just in the case when you’re not guilty. The insurance is designed especially for the times when you are guilty of doing something you weren’t meant to. What it does in those circumstances? It covers the damage and it makes everything as new.”
Maybe for other people that would mean nothing in particular. But for me it’s the answer to a heart-felt prayer that I have been saying for years: “God, please make me understand your sacrifice on the cross. Help me make sense of it.”
I do now. I am grateful today not only for my insurance company but most of all, for Jesus, the greatest insurer!
“He is not here, he is risen!” -Luke 24:6
It’s no news anymore, we have a second winter in Northern Ireland. I even bought a slow cooker this week, this is how serious it is!
The butternut squash I had in my cupboard and was planning to use in a curry ended up as soup today. Emma loves pumpkin soup so I decided to give this a try and see if I can fool her into trying a new veggie. Baaah, she tasted it immediately and refused to eat but I loved it so much I decided to share the recipe with you!
Just sauté an onion in half a tablespoon of coconut oil and water to cover until the onion is soft. Add your peeled, de-seeded and chopped squash( I used a medium sized one from Tesco’s). Add half a litre of stock (it should cover the squash) and let it boil until soft. Liquidise in a blender. Add a bit of nutmeg. Serve! I love the sweetness of the butternut squash combined with the subtle fragrance of the coconut oil.
A low-calorie(125 per serving!), heart-warming and flavoursome lunch. I had mine with toasted rye bread. Give it a try!
This is day 31, only 9 days left of this healthy living challenge. Stay warm!
Picture courtesy of Food Network, as I forgot to take a picture of mine today!
I know I have taken forever with this challenge and my 40 days will end up being 50 but hey, I was never known for writing posts for the sake of writing them…there were days I didn’t have anything informative or interesting to write about and so my 40-day challenge got a little prolonged. But the end in in sight,hurray!
I have learned a lot during this challenge.
I have read a lot, discovered a lot of “food trends”, acquainted myself with a lot of healthy, vegetarian, vegan and paleo food bloggers out there.
I have also realised that I could never be a full-time vegan because I find the opinion that eliminating even honey and eggs from one’s diet extreme and probably non-beneficial to the human body in the long term. On the other hand, you would never find me going to a “sausage party” and learning to slaughter animals at home. One step too far in the other direction, me thinks…
I have been inspired to try new foods by both vegan and paleo bloggers and fell in love with quinoa, bulgur, smoked salmon and organic butter among other things.
I have accumulated knowledge about the healing properties of plants, fruit and veggies that I have felt compelled to share with my Facebook friends (I think some have muted me already ;-).
I have also been reminded of the wickedness of the human nature and how people would use promises of health to ruthlessly extract money out of their fellow humans.
But most importantly, I have learned about myself. That I can stick with a goal, even when I see no my visible results. I am not a patient person so this has been a challenge for me. But I have pushed through!
This is day 30 of my healthy living challenge, take heart,the end of these posts is in sight 😉
P.S.-and because I use these posts as a means to keep myself accountable but also celebrate my success , I must inform you that after more than a week of a plateau at 68.4, this morning the scales read 68!! Hurray!
Yes, today I had time to reflect and be grateful to God, the maker of all the amazing things there are out there to eat and help us live a healthy life.I think that this has been brought about gradually by all the healthy eating books I have been reading. By the conversation we had last night with dear friends about how their health has improved just by them eating the right foods.
God has made every single plant, fruit and vegetable with the clear intention not only to sustain us but to bring restoration and healing when it’s needed. He made them colourful, flavoursome, exciting and nutritious!! And tonight I am saying thanks to Him for this part of my life, the good, fresh, yummy tasting food :-).
Night night, be blessed.
And yes, I do miss Greece and having fruit and veggies in abundance on our doorstep!
Mama's Haven 