the moments.

I heard something on the radio yesterday that really struck home.

Contentedness doesn't mean being content with your situation forever. It means being content with where you are and what you have in that moment. It's taking it all in stride, enjoying the things that you wish wouldn't change and even those things that you wish would change. Life goes too quickly for us to want the future to be here now.

I can't even tell you how hard this is for me to apply to my life. I struggle constantly to enjoy the things that I don't feel are important to where I want to be. Chem lab, I'm talking to you. But God gave me each and every moment of my life for a purpose, I would hate to waste one in any state other than joy.

So today, I'm reminded to treasure the life God gave me, the moments alone, and the moments shared. Those learning and those resting. For they are each uniquely crafted by the father who gives us life.

Amen? Amen.

power to comprehend

 So thankful for these beautiful words of Paul that remind me how treasured I am by the King of it all. 

For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family on heaven and earth takes it's name.

I pray that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you be strengthened in your inner being with power through his spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you have the power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.

Amen.
[Ephesians 4: 14-21]

zucchini-carrot muffins

Good Saturday my friends!
I'm kind of in love with Saturdays. I mean really though, who isn't? I got to lay in bed for a solid hour this morning and just play with my kitten.

Life=perfect.

So, school started....blegh. And in an effort to solve those back to school blues, I made you these!

Lately I've been on a muffin kick. What's not to love about portability, heartiness and a million different flavor options? 

Right, nothing. Muffins are the ideal breakfast food. 

Or anytime food, let's be real here. So because I've been loving muffins, I've been making them ALL the time. Banana-Nut. Lemon Poppyseed. Dark chocolate raspberry. Mmm. SO GOOD. 

But these, these take the cake. The first time I made these I knew that I had struck gold. All I can say is, go make them. I don't care what time it is. Midnight? Go for it. These are so worth it.

Super-moist meets delicately sweet in this hearty muffin. And it's got veggies in it. SCORE.

ZUCCHINI-CARROT MUFFINS

makes: 12 muffins

Dry:

2 c. Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour

1 c. Bob's Red Mill quick cooking oats

3.5 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp raw turbinado sugar

1/3 c. xylitol or stevia (or more turbinado)

pinch of salt

1/2 large zucchini

1-2 medium carrots

Mix dry ingredients well to ensure even distribution.

Wet:

1/2 c. non-fat greek yogurt

1/2 c. no sugar added applesauce

1 c. non-fat milk

1 tbsp molasses

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

Mix well.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix the dry and wet ingredients until just moistened and no more. Seriously, trust me. Stop yourself.

Evenly distribute the batter among 12 muffin tins. Top with oats, turbinado sugar or both!

Pop in the oven for 5 minutes and then turn down the oven to 375 degrees for an additional 15-18 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. 

Remove from muffin tin after a few minutes, as these will be a bit soggy if you let them sit. 

EAT. Warm is better for sure. 

As my dad would say, "there's a whole salad in here!"

Enjoy your saturday friends!

treasures

I won't even bother to say it's been awhile.
It's ridiculous...
But I needed time. Time to grow. Time to heal and time to refocus on what I treasure.

I treasure family, getting to spend time with my family this summer has truly been one of the greatest joys. I love seeing them for who they are, for being able to share long walks and breakfasts with my sweet sister. For finding that my little brother grew up when I wasn't looking and learning what it's like to be friends with my awe inspiring parents. I am blessed.

pretty much where our whole summer was spent. fixing up this beauty! 

I treasure life. I love living things because they remind me of my own humanity. As I sit here with my brand spankin' new kitten helping me type this post I see how true this is.
DS[;''[ <--- courtesy of Fitwilliam. Fitz for short.

still sporting his battle scars from his encounter with a car. obviously he's pretty spunky.

I treasure God's grace. For I am wretched and he somehow knows exactly how to prod my growth and  increase my dependence on his precious and undeserved love.

I treasure new beginnings.

I treasure doing the "backwards" thing, because it's teaches me to make me own path and don't look back.

I am blessed beyond measure in what I have been given. Here's to treasuring all that makes your life worth living.

mocha almond granola-the namesake post.

do you know how wonderful it is to have an oven?

this wonderful...

yeah. 

homemade granola anyone? No, really, it's fine if you don't want any, I'm sure I can single-handedly consume it all. I may let my sister help a little bit. Maybe. 

Aren't you excited that I'm finally posting a recipe? This one has been a looonnngg time coming, so I'm ecstatic that I could create a no-added-oil and no-added-sugar recipe that tastes amazeballs and has CHOCOLATE in it. 

perfection.

Just a forewarning, it's not super sweet, which I personally adore about this recipe. But if you like your granola a bit sweeter, consider adding a touch of honey or agave which will sweeten it right up!

just look at those clusters. BEST.DARN.PART.

So here it is, get ready for granola heaven.

MOCHA-ALMOND GRANOLA

serves 4+

Dry:

1 c. rolled oats (I use Bob's Red Mill gf)

1 tbsp. golden flax seeds

2 tsp. chia seeds

1/4 c. raw whole almonds

2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1-2 tsp. coffee grounds (to taste)

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Wet:

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Pre-heat to 375 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly.

Add in wet ingredients.

stir-stir-stir.

Spread on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, make sure it's not flat like a granola bar type thing. Which, though it could work if you baked it less...isn't granola. Shocker.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Stir it around about halfway through.
Turn down the oven to 300 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Watch to make sure it doesn't get too toasty for your liking!

DONE.

Eat. Share or don't. Be happy. 

Have an awesome Friday bloggies!

advice

On Saturday I was able to travel to my cousin's high school graduation with my family.
And goodness gracious, didn't I just graduate, like, yesterday? Yikes.

But anyways, I've noticed how easy it is to get stuck in your own darn world. To forget about the things going on around you and the joy that others experience in their big milestones, like graduation. I was so incredibly excited about my own graduation, I felt so adult and so ready to GO, to start my life.

But it's so easy to forget those feelings and to just let these huge moments for others pass right on by.

I'm trying to be intentional about expressing joy for those around me. It's so much harder than you would think.

Anyways... that's not what I was really planning on writing about. At my cousin's graduation there was a speaker, an entrepreneur and apologist who has an awesome presence on stage and what he talked about really struck a chord with me.

{freshman year: 2008}

He spoke about living between the walls of legalism and liberty. (yeah, if you couldn't tell, my cousin goes went to a smarty-party school) Well in this talk he spoke about advice that we would give our fifteen year old selves. Now, I know that I'm only nineteen, just four years past braces and freshman year, but I have some things I wish that I had known.

I would say that you, my dear, are not in control. God is, so give it up.

Life isn't easy. And unfortunately it only gets harder. But you know, it also gets more rewarding and more meaningful.

DON'T avoid or delete pictures. Ever. You may look like crap, think you look chunky or your makeup may be messed up (see 2009 picture above)...but each of those pictures captures a memory. It's a freeze frame that can bring a rush of thoughts, circumstances and feelings back and those are so precious.

Time passes quickly and defining yourself by the achievement of "big" events, like turning sixteen, graduating, or going to college makes it pass even faster.

{senior year: 2012}

There are lots of things that you will feel like you have to do. Most of them, you don't. Do things that strengthen your faith in God, bring you joy and serve others.

Just be yourself. Forget what the world says about what you have to be and how you have to act. You are special because of how you contrast with worldly ideals.

Abide.  Abide in the knowledge that even if you feel lost and have no direction, God knows. He knows your life, thoughts and prayers...but more importantly, he knows your future.

All these things I wish I would've know at fourteen. Now would I have listened? Um, nope, probs not. Would it mean anything to me at that point... also, probs not. Despite the fact that I didn't know these things then, here I am, able to see the value in all of my moments and to me, that's much much better than living a "perfect" life.

unsettledness

it's something we all face at some point, isn't it?

I've noticed it more and more at this stage in my life. This stage where there seems to be no sense of permanence, no settled-ness.

And I'm not going to lie, I hate it. I hate feeling like I don't really have a "place". I hate feeling like I'm in limbo, just waiting, transitioning.

I've been told multiple times that this stage is the stage of transition, that I should enjoy NOT having those responsibilities of being settled. And I probably should, well I know that I should...but I'm just so accustomed to being in a certain place and having a direction. It's just so weird to not feel that way.

This is something I've been struggling to find peace in, to acknowledge that this is the way that it's going to be and that I need to embrace God's plan for me, especially at this time when my life seems so hectic and temporary. I'm trying to be content in the knowledge that God's purpose for me may not be revealed immediately. I'm working to change my perception of this stage, from aimless wandering to purposeful formation of who I am.

Much much easier said than done, huh?