I work with two pretty awesome guys - Richard and Clint. They both had birthday's this week. Instead of making them a sugary, non-paleo treat...I baked them paleo almond pumpkin muffins. The muffins disappeared THAT day. Thought I'd share this awesome recipe!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup almond flour (I buy a bag of almonds and grind them in my coffee grinder)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
1 can of organic pumpkin
1 mashed banana
2 tbsp Agave OR raw honey
4 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp almond butter
Optional:
1 cup raisins
2 tbsp shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat eggs. Add the eggs to all other wet ingredients. In a separate bowl mix together the almond flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add the wet and dry ingredients together then add the optional ingredients. Stir. Grease the muffin pan with coconut oil spray (they sell this at Whole Foods). Divide evenly into MINI muffin pan. (This is important - if you use this recipe to make large muffins, it's too dense. Use the mini pans.) Bake for 18 minutes. This recipe should make 48 mini muffins.
Store in the refrigerator for longer lasting muffins.
ENJOY!! :)
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Kisses from Katie
I'm mid-way through book number 9 of the year - "Kisses from Katie...A story of Relentless Love and Redemption" and absolutely have to share Katie's story with other's. Yes...I know most of my blog posts recently have been about the books I'm reading - nerdy, I know - but I cannot seem to put this one down. I'm captivated, I'm humbled, I'm reminded that my life is NOT that hard, my faith has been shaken and strengthened, I've been convicted and most of all I've experienced God's love for the world - ALL of us having a purpose and a Grand Plan.
Katie Davis came to Brookhills a few months ago to share her life's crazy journey with our congregation. Katie, who was born and raised in Brentwood, TN left over Christmas break of her senior year of high school for a short mission trip to Uganda and her life was turned completely inside out. She found herself so moved by the people of Uganda and the needs she saw that she knew her calling was to return and care for them. At 22 years old, she purchased a one way ticket back to Uganda and now resides there permanently. Katie is in the process of adopting fourteen (!!) children in Uganda and has established a ministry, Amazima, that feeds and sends hundreds more children to school while teaching them the Word of Jesus Christ.
She had a fabulous life in the States - she was a great student with aspirations of college, drove a sporty yellow convertible, wore the most trendy clothes, had a boyfriend whom she hoped to marry one day, and was abounding in friends and popularity. Katie loved her life and had no intention in changing it - but God had other plans. Being a follower of Christ all her life, Katie knew what it meant to serve others and be obedient to God...but never entertained the thought that the journey of obedience would lead her away from everything that ever made her feel comfortable. Katie says "I was in no way qualified for this, but I was available. I have learned that something happens when one makes herself available to God: He starts moving in ways no one would imagine. God began doing things in me, around me, and through me as I offered myself to Him. I began each day saying, "Okay, Lord, what would you have me do today?........I was walking through life one moment at a time, blown away by what God could do through me if I simply said yes."
Sounds simple, right? Just say yes to God and the plan will unfold.
On the flip side to that, Katie knows her life is not easy. She writes: "I believe that God totally, absolutely, intentionally gives us more than we can handle. Because this is when we surrender to Him and He takes over, proving Himself by doing the impossible in our lives.......I have learned to accept the craziness, even ask for it, this "more than I can handle". Because in these times, God shows himself victorious. He reminds me that all of this life requires more of Him and less of me. He gives us more than we can handle, so that we may have no doubt of who is in control."
So...there was my conviction - staring me in the face. I'm a control freak. I like to plan...everything. I'm not patient. And I have a hard time saying "yes" when I don't know the end result already. I need to take more time to listen obediently to Him.
Psalm 37:4: "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Katie's response to this passage..."It is not about God making MY dreams come true but about God changing my dreams into HIS dreams for my life."
Alright, Chelsey...gut check. What's been required of your life the past 6 months in Birmingham: patience, waiting, following others' rules, crying, plans falling through, plans changing, being overwhelmed and not always being the leader...BUT also (and more importantly): learning, growing, patience, waiting, smiling, struggling, thriving and rejoicing. I pray that I continue to have (not obstacles) but hurdles in my life that challenge me to stop thinking about MY dreams and what I want to accomplish and what HE ultimately wants me to accomplish. Honestly...I'm not totally sure what THAT is yet...but that's ok. I'm learning patience too. :)
Katie has learned and continues to share with others that ONE person can change the world. When we "change the world" we do not have to effect thousands at once. Touching one person's heart changes the world. So, what does she do? - she slowly reaches out to those around her. She understands the ramifications of the "ripple effect" and knows that a small gesture or random act of kindness when payed forward can indeed touch hundreds. Katie is willing to feed one stomach, educate one mind, and treat one wound. She isn't determined to revolutionize the world all at once; she is satisfied with small changes. One life matters.
So...as I sit here convicted to jump up from this kitchen table and run around like a crazy person - Mother Teresa like and save the world, I'm reminded that my life (JUST as it is) gives me the opportunity to that everyday. I coach hundreds of athletes into healthy lifestyles, I coach teachers who take what I've taught them and apply it to their students, I coach kids whose minds linger on my words, I have meaningful conversations daily with my fellow lemons - who are all striving to bring the world from mediocrity to greatness, and I even have daily conversations with strangers about what makes their lives wonderful. WOW - I am so blessed. And so grateful for the opportunity to change the world. :)
I may not ever visit Uganda, I may not ever visit Africa for that matter, I may not ever adopt children (especially 14), I may not ever start a ministry, I may not ever raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, I may not ever move away from my family and my "comfort zone", I may not ever be able to quote scripture, and I may not ever write as eloquently as Katie Davis. That's all God's plan for Katie. But I do know this...I will live His plan for Chelsey - obediently. Referencing my last blog...I will "Be Chelsey".
If you are ordinary but hungry to obey God, may you find inspiration and encouragement in the pages of Kisses from Katie (or check out her blog: http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/). May you find the strength to say yes and be launched into your very own amazing story.
Katie Davis came to Brookhills a few months ago to share her life's crazy journey with our congregation. Katie, who was born and raised in Brentwood, TN left over Christmas break of her senior year of high school for a short mission trip to Uganda and her life was turned completely inside out. She found herself so moved by the people of Uganda and the needs she saw that she knew her calling was to return and care for them. At 22 years old, she purchased a one way ticket back to Uganda and now resides there permanently. Katie is in the process of adopting fourteen (!!) children in Uganda and has established a ministry, Amazima, that feeds and sends hundreds more children to school while teaching them the Word of Jesus Christ.
She had a fabulous life in the States - she was a great student with aspirations of college, drove a sporty yellow convertible, wore the most trendy clothes, had a boyfriend whom she hoped to marry one day, and was abounding in friends and popularity. Katie loved her life and had no intention in changing it - but God had other plans. Being a follower of Christ all her life, Katie knew what it meant to serve others and be obedient to God...but never entertained the thought that the journey of obedience would lead her away from everything that ever made her feel comfortable. Katie says "I was in no way qualified for this, but I was available. I have learned that something happens when one makes herself available to God: He starts moving in ways no one would imagine. God began doing things in me, around me, and through me as I offered myself to Him. I began each day saying, "Okay, Lord, what would you have me do today?........I was walking through life one moment at a time, blown away by what God could do through me if I simply said yes."
Sounds simple, right? Just say yes to God and the plan will unfold.
On the flip side to that, Katie knows her life is not easy. She writes: "I believe that God totally, absolutely, intentionally gives us more than we can handle. Because this is when we surrender to Him and He takes over, proving Himself by doing the impossible in our lives.......I have learned to accept the craziness, even ask for it, this "more than I can handle". Because in these times, God shows himself victorious. He reminds me that all of this life requires more of Him and less of me. He gives us more than we can handle, so that we may have no doubt of who is in control."
So...there was my conviction - staring me in the face. I'm a control freak. I like to plan...everything. I'm not patient. And I have a hard time saying "yes" when I don't know the end result already. I need to take more time to listen obediently to Him.
Psalm 37:4: "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Katie's response to this passage..."It is not about God making MY dreams come true but about God changing my dreams into HIS dreams for my life."
Alright, Chelsey...gut check. What's been required of your life the past 6 months in Birmingham: patience, waiting, following others' rules, crying, plans falling through, plans changing, being overwhelmed and not always being the leader...BUT also (and more importantly): learning, growing, patience, waiting, smiling, struggling, thriving and rejoicing. I pray that I continue to have (not obstacles) but hurdles in my life that challenge me to stop thinking about MY dreams and what I want to accomplish and what HE ultimately wants me to accomplish. Honestly...I'm not totally sure what THAT is yet...but that's ok. I'm learning patience too. :)
Katie has learned and continues to share with others that ONE person can change the world. When we "change the world" we do not have to effect thousands at once. Touching one person's heart changes the world. So, what does she do? - she slowly reaches out to those around her. She understands the ramifications of the "ripple effect" and knows that a small gesture or random act of kindness when payed forward can indeed touch hundreds. Katie is willing to feed one stomach, educate one mind, and treat one wound. She isn't determined to revolutionize the world all at once; she is satisfied with small changes. One life matters.
So...as I sit here convicted to jump up from this kitchen table and run around like a crazy person - Mother Teresa like and save the world, I'm reminded that my life (JUST as it is) gives me the opportunity to that everyday. I coach hundreds of athletes into healthy lifestyles, I coach teachers who take what I've taught them and apply it to their students, I coach kids whose minds linger on my words, I have meaningful conversations daily with my fellow lemons - who are all striving to bring the world from mediocrity to greatness, and I even have daily conversations with strangers about what makes their lives wonderful. WOW - I am so blessed. And so grateful for the opportunity to change the world. :)
I may not ever visit Uganda, I may not ever visit Africa for that matter, I may not ever adopt children (especially 14), I may not ever start a ministry, I may not ever raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, I may not ever move away from my family and my "comfort zone", I may not ever be able to quote scripture, and I may not ever write as eloquently as Katie Davis. That's all God's plan for Katie. But I do know this...I will live His plan for Chelsey - obediently. Referencing my last blog...I will "Be Chelsey".
If you are ordinary but hungry to obey God, may you find inspiration and encouragement in the pages of Kisses from Katie (or check out her blog: http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/). May you find the strength to say yes and be launched into your very own amazing story.
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