BE a friend

 I feel like a broken, loose-paneled, sliver-filled, withering old fence lately.  And these two continue to encourage me and remind me of the flowers that are still blooming in my life.  And although my garden consists of a bunch of tangled and scattered wildflowers, they are still growing nonetheless.  I am increasingly thankful for them each day, and I am so excited for the beautiful blooming blessings that the Lord ushering in to their lives. 

LOVE you MORE Thea Lynn and Ellen Lillian:)

 ^{Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 "}Two are better than one, because they have a good [more satisfying] reward for their labor; For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up."

BE Hopeful

"I am in the process of removing unnecessary burdens from you. I will strip away those things that have been an inordinate requirement of your time or sapped your energy and other resources.  The result of this process will be a more complete focus on your purposes in My kingdom, says the Lord.  Be willing to let go of everything that has become unproductive." 

John 15:2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

This was so perfectly spoken to my heart in light of this season of life.  Each fruit has it's own season to be planted, to grow, and to be cut and pruned before it is tasteful.  I feel like much of my life has been cutting and pruning over the past year, but the Lord is continuing to remind me that He cuts and prunes in order that we might bear MORE fruit.  More fruit than before. And he is also reminding me that I have planted my seeds in the good soil, in the foundation of Christ.  I recently read Matthew 13:23, the parable of the sower.  And Jesus says "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some ^(T)a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty." So I anxiously await to taste the juicy fruit that He is ripening in my life that it might bloom in ABUNDANCE.

Jesus my I continue to plant my hope in you. You are my firm foundation. You are the good soil.  May I continue to trust that you will grow and ripen me according to your perfect timing.  Amen. 

BE Feed

Jesus is the bread of life. His word feeds our souls.  Just like we can't go more than a couple days without foot, this is a perfect reminder that we cannot go more than a couple days without Jesus.  Without depending on him fully, and letting His spirit dwell and direct our lives completely.  How do we do this?  We KNOW Him more.  There is ALWAYS MORE to know about Jesus.  And "there is nothing compare to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ" (Philippians 3:8).  The Word is our way of knowing Him more, and thus loving Him more.  In our lives we love the people that we "know" really well.  The same is true for our relationship with the Lord.  Although He loved us when we did not know him, as humans we cannot love Him unless we know him.  Therefore the the verse "taste and see that the Lord is good" now has new meaning for me.  Over the past few months I have been striving to open my eyes to see God in the world around me, and also see him through the things that I eat, cook, bake, ect.  It is growing my awareness of His presence in all things.   The word "taste" no longer simply refers to tasting food that the Lord has created, but now it refers to "tasting" the word which He spoke from the beginning of creation.  I want to feed on His word more than I feed on food.  


Jesus may the bread of life (John 6:35) sustain both my body and my soul. Amen.

BE Trusting

"There are things that will demand your attention and things that need to be adjusted to function properly.  Your test is to determine whether or not you will get frustrated with the process, which will make things worse, or trust Me to give the wisdom you need to establish the necessary order.  You must take the time required to accomplish what is set before you as a necessary step to be taken before you can proceed, says the Lord."

John 14:27 "PEACE I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

TASTE: I am a peanut butter lover, perhaps to a fault.  When I was a kid my mom used to spread peanut butter and maple syrup over my pancakes and then roll them up like crepes and put them in my lunch:)  Peanut butter is just one of those foods that makes everything taste that much better.  And it seems to go with most anything... or at least my taste buds seem to think so.  I slab it on my fruits, veggies, rice cakes, bread, bars, and in my oatmeal, yogurt, rice pudding, s'mores, banana boats, smoothies, ect.  It just seems to spread so nicely on most anything.  Even the dullest of foods (ie. celery) come to life with a little PB.  Peanut Butter is kind of like the Holy Spirit.  Both bring sweetness out of blandness, and both stick like glue.

SEE: And then God said, "Let there be light!!!" Our brand new beautiful track how now come to life and light!  Last night a bunch of my teammates, alumni, Oregon State athletes, coaches, staff, and donors all meet at our brand new 48 inch 9 lane beautiful BEAVER track!! What an incredible dream that I have been blessed to witness come to life!  I cannot wait for the next two years of turning left on this bad boy:)    

TASTE: GF Lemon-Poppy Seed Zucchini Bread

I ate an entire loaf today. Umm.. Jesus is the bread of life?...

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups tapioca/rice flour combo
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 325°. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
2. 2. Stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in zucchini and next 2 ingredients. Spoon batter into 3 greased and floured 5- x 3-inch disposable aluminum foil loaf pans (about 1 1/3 cups batter per pan).
3. 3. Bake at 325° for 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).
4. 
   
5. SEE: WORLD RECORDS!!!
6. 

David Rudisha of Kenya set's a new world record in the 800 meters with a time of 1:40.91, breaking his own record by 0.1 seconds.

Berries and bright lights

TASTE:  Blackberry peach cobbler is my absolute favorite food.  Finally the time has come! Blackberry season.  But I admire more than the sweet flavor.  I love how they grow wild and free.  The cost is simple: a mix of blood and berry stains.  The best ones are always the hardest to reach and require the most risk of pain to pluck.  I think of this as similar to striving towards a dream.   Although our dreams often seem so far off, and the way seems blocked by thorns,  when we achieve them the sweetness is surpasses all the pain and struggle. Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

SEE: No I did not take this picture, but isn't it clever!?  The moon has been so full and bright the past few nights.  I like that it's so hard to capture a good picture of the moon.  I think of taking pictures of the moon like taking pictures of fireworks, it just doesn't work... Nowadays everyone is so concerned with capturing a good picture, that they forgo the moment.  Instead of staring at God's beauty in awe and praise, humans have adopted an inclination to capture God's beauty and then share it as their own.  I think God just looks down at us and laughs sometimes when we whip out our cameras to take a picture of a sunset, the stars, or the moon.  These are some of the most beautiful and breathtaking things in our world, and yet humans could never convey them better than the Lord created them.  I think it's His way of asking for our attention for just a moment of praise.  Deuteronomy 4:19 And also carefully guard yourselves so that you don't look up into the skies and see the sun and moon and stars, all the constellations of the skies, and be seduced into worshiping and serving them. God set them out for everybody's benefit, everywhere.