Coconut Pancakes

Growing up we always put coconut in our pancakes. I quickly realized that not a lot of people do that. I honestly can’t have them any other way now. I have found the perfect pancake recipe that I would like to share with all of you. I have made this recipe so much that I have it memorized.

Coconut pancakes

1 1/4 Cup flour

1 *Heaping tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

Dash of Salt

1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut (Or more if you’re like me)

1 1/4 Cup buttermilk (*or milk with 1 tbsp vinegar)

1 Egg

1/4 Cup Oil

Combine all ingredients. Don’t over mix.

Depending on the size, this recipe makes about 10-12 pancakes.

*When I say heaping I mean a well rounded teaspoon.

*I never have buttermilk on hand and I hate getting just for pancakes so I’ve resorted to making my own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let it set for a minute or 2 and you are ready to go!

An Unpleasant Emotion Called Fear

Fear is my biggest weakness.

It wasn’t until a friend asked me if she could keep me accountable about my fears did I realize the extent of how I have let them rule my life. But God has a lot to say about fear in the Bible. The phrase “do not be afraid” actually occurs 365 times in the Bible. That is a daily reminder!

The dictionary definition of fear is:

“an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.”

I don’t know if there is such a thing as a healthy fear – besides the fear of snakes. That fear is definitely a healthy one. All joking aside, though, fear is unhealthy. In fact, I have been in a lot of “pain” because of my fears. (Side note: If you haven’t read my last blog God NEVER Promised You a Perfect Life, please do so because it ties so well with this one.) I have to make a daily choice – because God gave me a free will – to not be afraid. I know people that before they even get out of bed they proclaim the name of Jesus to help them to not fear for that day. Oh how quickly I forget to do that!

I love the verse 2 Timothy 1:7 thats says; “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” The fear that you experience is not from God! God has given you the power of love and a sound mind! A sound mind is not one that feels threatened or in pain. However, overcoming fears does not happen overnight. It is a daily activity. God can take away your fears, but you first have to invite Him into your pain before He will begin.

To help you overcome your fear, here are a few scriptures that you should write on a notecard and read every morning!

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

“But now, this is what the Lord says…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Luke 12:22-26

What about you? What helps you overcome your fears? Let me know in the comments below!

God NEVER Promised You a Perfect Life

Free will.

It blows my mind that God has given us a free will. Sometimes I wonder why so many people don’t believe in God. But in the end, it’s because He has given them us choice. If I was God (thank goodness I’m not), I would want to make everybody love me automatically but, as Kevin D. Huggins states, “God would rather have a world of free beings, with all its’ risks, than a world of people who did right like machines because they couldn’t do anything else.” There was even a point at which “the Lord was sorry He had made man on the earth, and he was grieved  in His heart” (Genesis 6:6). And I don’t blame Him! We are pretty awful without God! God has given us a choice to love Him and follow Him, but that also includes a choice to reject Him.

Ok, I will get back to that in a moment…

I feel like I’ve known a lot of people that have been suffering lately. And I sympathize with all of them. But I struggle when people question why God lets bad things happen because God NEVER promised us a perfect life. He sent His Son because He knew we would always struggle with stuff. Because of Him we have grace and the ultimate comfort. God is not to be blamed for your suffering! I repeat, God is NOT to be blamed for your suffering.  Jesus went through the ultimate suffering when He endured the cross, bearing the full wrath of God for all sin for all time. Without trying to be cold-hearted, I humbly submit that any kind of suffering any of us have endured does not compare to what Jesus went through. Jesus was in so much anguish about the cross that he perspired blood! But still, He chose to respond to this crisis in every way God wanted Him to.

Remember the whole free will thing? God gives us a choice on how to handle our suffering. He doesn’t promise that hard times will stop coming, but He does promise us that He will always be there for us. Here’s the catch: we have to choose God in our sufferings. Man, is it easy to run to a friend when we are hurting! God created us for fellowship, so in itself it’s not bad to turn to a good friend. But if they aren’t pointing you to Christ, then you are choosing to avoid your suffering. And when you avoid your suffering, you avoid your healing, which will literally make you sick.

Again, it just blows my mind that God would give us a choice in the first place, but if He forced us to love Him then we truly wouldn’t believe. “God has the power to change people at the deepest level but He doesn’t do it unless He is invited” (Huggins). That quote struck me hard. How many times have I blamed God for things, and then realized that I wasn’t looking for help but I was looking for a fight?

If you are suffering today, I would encourage you to invite God into your suffering to heal your heart! Since He gives us a choice, and since Satan knows our weaknesses so well, we have to choose every day, every hour, and every minute to surrender our will to God. I even challenge you not to ask for prayer from somebody else until you have surrendered it to God yourself.

3 Ways to Experience Grace

 

I struggle with my relationship with God. I am a pastors wife so I feel like I shouldn’t say anything but I have to. Our churches have put expectations on believers like me to be “perfect.”

Every week, I help with our youth ministry and it hurts my heart to see them struggle because they feel like they have this expectation, too. They feel like they can’t live up to this expectation to be “perfect” so they give up, in a sense. And I feel this same struggle in my own life. I feel so guilty about not being faithful in reading my Bible or praying to the point where I feel like I can’t come to God. But one thing I have learned is that this is a lie!!! This is a lie our christian culture has sadly adapted to. It has taken a long time but I finally feel like I can understand my walk with God: it is a JOURNEY.

A book that recently changed my world was One Way Love by Tullian Tchividjian. The book is all about grace. One of the things that stood out to me was that we forget the impact the gospel has on our faith. Grace is something we can’t control. Its something we can’t pay back.

I have worked in a lot of sales jobs over the years, and it seems like there’s always somebody who wants to pay for the person they came with. Then the other person feels guilty about it and offers (a little louder) to pay instead. And the funny thing is that these people will fight about who gets to pay for the other person for what seems like forever. Somebody eventually wins, but it leaves the other person feeling like they owe them a debt. That is not grace! But this is what we often feel like with God. We feel like somehow we have to pay him back or do something to even out the scales for the grace he gives us.

This is totally backward! Grace is one sided. You can’t ever repay somebody for grace. It’s someone giving you a gift, not a debt that you owe. The hardest part that we all struggle with is accepting it. Stop trying to repay God! The guilt that we often feel traps us so easily. It creates a vicious circle of receiving a gift, feeling guilty, trying to repay, and then receiving more grace. And we miss the whole point! God is giving us that gateway out, but instead we stay in a prison cell with the door wide open.

The sad part about this book is that Tchividjian had an affair, and it ended up being a huge scandal. As much as that saddens me, it shows me how much we need grace in our lives. That could have been any one of us.  We all need grace. We all need to show grace…even to the man that opened my eyes to it, but didn’t live it.

So how do we do this? Here are a few suggestions from an imperfect person to another:

1. Let God’s word wash over you.

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Romans 3:24 And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

2. Give grace to somebody else.

Give somebody a gift without strings attached. Try it, I dare you!

3. Stop letting guilt rule your life.

We all mess up. Ask for forgiveness and move on. Our relationship with God is like a friendship. You need to spend time with your friends, always ask for forgiveness when you mess us, and enjoy the other person. God desires that with you.

Chicken Fajitas

I know there are a lot of different recipes for fajitas out there but this is my favorite. Growing up my Mom made this a lot and I still make it at least a couple times a month. Plus this is a simple and quick dinner for your family. The bright pink notecard is how I remember it when I was little. I have it saved on my phone so whenever I want it, its always at my fingertips :).

My idea of  cooking is modifying any type of recipe. If you don’t have something exactly as the recipe substitute for something you have. Cooking is all about creating. Have fun with it!

Chicken Fajitas

2 Chicken breast

3-4 bell peppers of any color

1 red onion

Fajita Seasoning

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp Cumin

Start by slicing the chicken and browning it in a pan on with a little oil. Once browned set aside. Next chop all the peppers and onions. On medium heat sauté your peppers and onions for 12-15 minutes until soft. Add the chicken back into the pan and then add the seasoning. Serve with salsa, sour cream, cheese and of course tortillas or anything else your family loves. If you are my husband that means hot sauce as well.

An easy tip is to make up a bunch of the seasoning and have it in a jar already on hand. Feel free to use as much seasoning as you want. Most of the time I double the recipe for one meal. Enjoy this quick and easy meal!

Relationship Goals For 2016

Relationships, either good or bad, we have all learned from our childhood. For me, relationships were hard as I was growing up because almost all of them came and went from year to year.  I grew up as a camp director’s daughter, which, in some ways, was the best childhood, but in other ways was really difficult. I had deep friendships that would last for a summer and then I would have to wait for the following year to see them again. It wasn’t until I got to college and graduated that I realized that this was not normal. I thought every person I encountered would share their deepest, darkest secrets and we would be best friends forever. Not the case. Since I did now know how to handle a long term friendship, I had high expectations set, and, in turn, I hurt people. Losing a friendship was hard for me. In all of that I have learned a few things I want to share with you.*

Stop controlling.

Have you ever wanted a relationship so bad that you would do anything to keep it, so you try to control it? When we try to control we always end up feeling controlled (it’s for their own good, or course…). Ephesians 4:32 tells us to “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as in Christ God forgave.” “‘One-anothering’ relationships exhibit a healthy balance because both people take responsibility to do what scripture exhorts.” It’s not just one person being kind, its both. The moment you try to control a friendship is the moment you stop one-anothering. Take responsibility for yourself knowing that the other person has to, as well.

Intimacy is not cheap.

“All human beings love for intimacy, but intimacy is not cheap. Genuine intimacy never develops unless both parties trust that the relationship is psychologically and physically safe. Although we don’t always recognize it, trusting always is a choice.” I long for intimate friendship because I feel like I have lost so many. I have learned that I have a fear of losing  intimate friends to the point where I get protective of their time. In doing so I have driven friends away. I have to face the fear of experiencing pain and then tell it that it has no place in my heart and mind. Going into a friendship takes a lot of trust. You have to trust that this person will be safe and reliable. What we don’t think about is taking the pressure off that person and realizing that they will fail us. That’s why it is so important to have our faith rooted in Christ because when those times come, and our friends fail us, we can learn to forgive them and move on. Our friends don’t deserve for us to hold them at a standard that only Christ can live up to.

Respect others.

“Respecting others as much as we respect ourselves means letting other adults take responsibility for the consequences of their choices just as we do ours. When mutual respect and responsibility characterize our relationships, we will be safe but not hurt-free. It is unrealistic, unbiblical, and dangerously naive to expect every person we know to be honest and trustworthy.” Giving respect to others gives them the opportunity to rise above what other currently think of them. It takes pressure off of them and, ironically, it allows them to become who they were made to be. And it takes a lot of pressure off you, too. You no longer are a slave to your need for closeness because you are allowing them to be great. Respecting others is a win-win…if you dare to do it.

What I am not saying in all of this is to give up on people because they will always fail you. What I’m saying is to put your faith in the One who is worthy and see how your friendships change. Try it. It changed my life.

*The quoted statements are from Hurt People Hurt People by Sandra Wilson.

You Are Complete

Today I noticed a lot of different things on social media about body image. I think our society is finally turning away from what is fake and toward what is real when it comes to beauty. This is something I have felt for a long time and I think you can relate with me, too.

Ever since I have known my husband (about 5 years) I have said that I want to lose weight. I am really sad to say this. I have tried exercising, dieting, calorie counting, you name it…just not a juice cleanse ;). But I am sick of trying and failing! Then a thought occurred to me: maybe it’s not about feeling beautiful, or skinny, or fit; maybe it’s about being me.

There are definitely a few places that the Bible talks about beauty, but not how we think of beauty. Proverbs 31:30 says that beauty is fleeting and vain. The main place that the Bible talks about beauty, in the sense of sensual attraction, is The Song of Solomon. And the women mentioned is the author’s bride.”You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you” (Song of Sol. 4:7). But beyond this, the subject of beauty is not discussed much in the Bible.

Our world has corrupted the beauty of sex (bear with me here). Either it’s something “everybody is doing,” or, in the Christian realm, it is seen as “awkward” or never talked about. So, too often, we don’t really know what to do with the issue of sexuality or beauty because there isn’t a good conversation about it. So girls, let’s talk: God made men to be sexual beings. That being said, it often doesn’t matter what we look like for them to be attracted to us. We think so much about how we think we should look. And we even go so far as to justify our focus on beauty with Scripture sometimes! But maybe that’s not the point. Maybe God cares less about what we look like on the outside. Maybe it isn’t about “feeling beautiful.” So let’s think less about our image, and start thinking more about our hearts.

I have come to the conclusion that I will never be happy with my body until I am happy with who I am. I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14). I am a child of the King. I am made in the image of Christ! I don’t know what God looks like, but I know for a fact that He will be the most beautiful being we have ever seen (insert my big green eyes). I am made in that image! There is nothing ugly about God and since I am made IN HIS IMAGE there is nothing ugly about me! I am “perfect” I am complete, there is nothing I can change that will make me more “beautiful” than I already am.

YOU ARE COMPLETE! There is nothing you can do that will make you less perfect. When God made you He made you perfect, complete, you are lacking nothing. Man will always look on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart (1 Sam. 16:70).

Somebody will always have something to say about your appearance whether it’s good or bad. But you can know in your heart that you are perfect, so don’t let people take that away from you. This is not just a kids book, it’s a story about our lives. Listen and be encouraged, don’t let people define who you truly are. You are complete!

A little something extra: You Are Special by Max Lucado

Caramel Curry Rice

This last Sunday, my husband and I were in a Master Chopped (Master Chef and Chopped combined) competition as an outreach with our church. We were basically volunteered, but I never said no. I knew this would be a challenge for me, so I went for it! We ended up getting 3rd place. Not bad considering that we were up against 2 professional chefs. The mandatory ingredients were: chicken breast, broccoli, heavy cream, caramels, maraschino cherries, mandarin oranges, jasmine rice, bananas, and curry powder. I think they went a little overboard on ingredients if you ask me. We made a crusted chicken with caramel curry rice and a broccoli salad. The biggest comments we had was that our rice was amazing. I actually had people asking for the recipe! That is why I’m writing today. I made a redemption dish to share with the rest of you!

For this post, I’m just going to deal with the caramel curry rice. In the competition, I took the heavy cream and melted the caramels in it, and then I added a little curry powder.  I did not want to go out and buy caramels when I knew I could get the flavor in a different way. So I started with brown rice. You can use any rice you want, but growing up my mom always had brown rice. It makes me feel better about what I’m eating.

Caramel Curry Rice

• 3 Cups cooked rice
• 1 Pint heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 2 Teaspoon Curry powder
• Salt

In a sauce pan, heat up the heavy cream and brown sugar until the sugar resolves. Add the curry and salt to taste mix until fully incorporated. Finally, add the rice and you are done! It’s that easy! You can make it runny or add just enough to flavor the rice. But make sure to salt the rice before adding. It will help to balance out the flavors.

Feel free to make this recipe your own, add or take anything away. Thats whats I love about cooking.

Stay tuned for a Crusted Chicken and a Warm Broccoli Salad in my next post!

My Belief In Crying

I never thought I would start a blog (like everybody who has one now), but God has consistently been putting things on my heart that I need to share. I want this blog to encourage and empower you. I will be talking about my greatest passion genuine faith along with another of my passions, delicious food. This will be challenging to me at times because what I share will be very vulnerable. I think that is something we are lacking in our society today. Everybody has problems and insecurities but because we don’t share them, we feel like we are alone. I hope that in a small way I can change your mind about that.

Let’s start by talking about my belief in crying. I have learned a lot about tears over the years. Here are two things God has taught me:

1. You are not weak if you cry.

A man often believes that if he cries, then he is weak. Women are seen as emotional if they cry too much. One time I was crying while talking to my mom (which happens frequently). I expressed that I did not know why I was crying and she assured me that I was crying because what I was saying was coming from the heart. Think about that. Once you’ve thought about that, why does our society tell us not to cry? It is an expression of our heart; just like art, singing or dancing is. It is ok to cry. So the next time you or somebody else starts crying don’t tell them to stop! Be there for them; let yourself cry it out. You are not weak if you cry.

2. God is present in your sorrow.

Psalm 56:8 tells us that God cares about your pain.

You keep track of all my sorrows.

You have collected all my tears in your bottle.

You have recorded each one in your book.

He keeps track of your sorrows, which means you are never alone when you are sad! God is not absent from your life, NEVER! I remember the first year Brant and I were married. I thought everything would be perfect after the wedding day. I did not think about moving away from my family. I did not think about moving to a completely new city or needing to find a job. I did not think about how scared I would be when Brant left for work, and I was all alone in our creepy apartment. In that time I should’ve felt really lonely, and yes, there were times I cried, but deep down I never felt alone. I can also remember a time when I asked for a hug from God and I believe I felt His embrace. As I write this I want to cry (figures) because God has been the ultimate comforter for me.

So in conclusion, just cry it out. There is great value in our tears; there is a reason God made our emotions. Imagine life without being happy, excited, angry, or sad. We would all be really boring. Why would we be boring when God made us all unique? So next time you feel like crying, remember that first, it’s ok and second, you are not alone.