Painting the leaves <3

Cherry-Ripe!

Cherry-Ripe 

    by Thomas Campion

There is a garden in her face

   Where roses and white lilies blow;

A heavenly paradise is that place,

   Wherein all pleasant fruits do flow:

      There cherries grow which none may buy

      Till “Cherry-ripe” themselves do cry.

Those cherries fairly do enclose

   Of orient pearl a double row,

Which when her lovely laughter shows,

   They look like rose-buds filled with snow;

      Yet them no peer nor prince can buy

      Till “Cherry-ripe” themselves do cry.

Her eyes like angels watch them still;

   Her brows like bended bows do stand,

Threat'ning with piercing frowns to kill

   All that attempt with eye or hand

      Those sacred cherries to come nigh,

      Till “Cherry-ripe” themselves do cry.

Iz too tired

My sweet Essie fell asleep by the phone today and I just had to get a picture :) Laughter is the best medicine <3

Best Ginger Beer

My family has always loved ginger beer... ever since we lived in Pennsylvania where it was popular and easily accessible. However, whenever we tried making it ourselves, it was always either too sweet, or too bitter, or else just took forever to make. When I ran across this recipe on Jamie Oliver's website, I just had to try it and it ended up being perfect! Sweet and tangy with a bit of a bite at the end ;) Enjoy!

Best Ginger Beer

4 oz Ginger Root (about 1 medium root)
4 TBS Brown Sugar or other sweetener
2 Lemons
1 25oz bottle Perrier or Pellegrino

Shred ginger with a course cheese grater (you can leave the skins on if you like). Place the ginger and it's juice into a bowl and add the sugar. Peel the lemons lightly and add the zest to the mix. Pound for about 30 seconds with a pestle or heavy object like a rolling pin to mix the flavors. Add the sparkling water and let sit for 10 minutes or so. Strain the liquid into a pitcher and refrigerate till cold or serve with ice. If it's too bitter, just add a touch more sugar till it's the way you want it.

Soup!!!

Portobello Chili = Yummm-O!!! It's healthy and vegetarian too!
Happy Eating!

Have Faith for Your Healing!

"Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying 'Lord my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.' And Jesus said to him, 'I will come and heal him.'  The centurion answered and said, 'Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it.' When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to those who followed, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" -Matt. 8:5-8 NKJV

How amazing is that? Can you imagine God saying that you have more faith than anybody else, including His own followers? That's a huuuuuge compliment! So why did this guy have more faith than anybody else? He was humble. He had faith that Jesus was who He said He was and that He had the power to speak a word and change the world.
So have faith! Never doubt God. He can do anything and He is VERY interested in your problems, no matter how small or how big they may be. Like it says in the chapter before,
'Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.' (Matt. 7:7-8 NKJV)
It's as simple as that. Pray and ask God to help you through your problems. Have faith that He will take care of you and He will! Sure things may not change for a while, but it may be immediate too. Remember, we are on God's clock, not the other way around. So have faith, believe, and victory over your difficulties will not be withheld from you!

Daniel Fast do's and don'ts

These are essentially the foods that you can and can't eat on this fast.

YES: Fruits, vegetables, legumes (peas, beans, etc.), whole grains, all seeds and nuts, teas, juices, and spices.
SOMETIMES: Stevia (a natural sweetener from the leaves of the stevia herb), honey, and eggs (just like for baking or when we need protein, not your usual scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, etc.)
NOPE: All preservatives, dyes, processed foods (e.g. instant mashed potatoes, white flour), yeast, fried foods, meat, dairy, and sugar

Even if you aren't doing a fast, this is a good diet to get on and you might as well pray while you're at it!
I'll post some recipe ideas throughout the month as we make different meals.