27May

How To Build The Perfect Smoothie

Nearly every day for me starts with a green smoothie. Since breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day, drinking a smoothie ensures I get the jumpstart needed for my day in a gentle and nutritious way.

 

Follow these steps to master building the perfect smoothie.

 

First things first. You must have a good quality high-speed blender. On the market today are plenty to choose from; Ninja, Blend-Tec, Vitamix, and more, take your pick. I use this Ninja that was purchased for me as a gift and I love it. I use it at least once a day every day, sometimes even 3 times a day.

 

berry smoothie

If your produce has already been washed, you can make your smoothie in a matter of minutes. So grab an item from each of the categories below and let’s blend.

 

LIQUID

Always start with a few ice cubes unless you’re using frozen fruit. The high-speed motor on your blender is likely to slightly heat the contents of your drink as you are blending. And I don’t know about you but I don’t like drinking my smoothies hot.

 

Then add about one cup liquid of your choice. Some excellent options are:

~Coconut Water

~Non-Dairy Milks (Coconut, Cashew, Almond)

~Water

 

 

VEGETABLES/FRUITS

Here the combinations are endless. I do try not to combine too many high sugar fruits in one drink. Even though it’s natural sugar, we still want to be mindful of overall sugar intake. Some of my favorite fruits & veggies:

 

Veggies

~Spinach

~Kale

~Swiss Chard

~Beet Greens

~Cucumber

~Avocado

Spinach

Collards

 

Fruits

~Berries

~1/2 Banana

~Kiwi

~Apples

Strawberries

Raspberries

 

 

PROTEIN

If your drinking your smoothie as a meal replacement you’ll want to add protein. Some good choices:

~Nut Butters (Peanut, Almond, Sunflower Seed)

~High quality plant based protein powder

~Plain Greek Yogurt

 

 

ADD INS

Up the nutritional factor my adding some of these boosters:

~Spirulina

~Chia or Flax seeds

~Raw Cacao Powder

 

Ok friends, now that you’ve learned how to build the perfect smoothie, what are you waiting for? Get to blending!

 

Raspberry Smoothie

kale smoothie

Berry Smoothie

 

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Check out two of my favorite smoothie recipes

Apple Pie Smoothie

Black Forest Smoothie

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

25May

Lord, Here’s My Worship

“He threw up all in the bed”, was my wake up call at 1:01am. My husband alerted me that our sweet 2 year old was laying in this mess. I jump up and indeed the entire bed was filled with vomit.

 

Saturday evening I was tired and drifted right off to sleep. I hadn’t been asleep long and glory to God that worship had ushered me to sleep because it was in a spirit of worship that I jumped up to clean the mess.

 

Lord, Here’s My Worship.

 

So went the rest of the wee hours of the morning. Nearly every half hour, my sweet baby continued to throw up, until 5:30am. After a while he was just dry heaving because there was nothing left to come up. My mama heart was hurting for my baby so I just held him and rocked him.

 

Lord, Here’s My Worship.

 

Yet with every wake up, every lurching of his stomach, every clean up of the mess was my worship. Washing the soiled linens, stripping soiled clothes…yet again and scrubbing vomit out of the rug, my worship was present in that too.

 

You yourselves like living stones are being built up

as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood,

to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God

through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5

 

As I continued to listen to the pure, unadulterated worship of singer Jason Upton, my heart was filled with tremendous joy. I was reenergized and revitalized, not just to meet the needs of my baby in that moment, but I KNEW something was happening in the spirit.

 

My mouth is filled with your praise,

and with your glory all the day. Psalm 71:8

 

So as I continued to praise and worship the Lord, I remembered that it was now officially Sunday, the day of Pentecost. I could not have planned a better way to usher in Pentecost, to have my heart and mind set squarely on worshipping the Lord, with no distractions. For Him to orchestrate this divine appointment with me was just so perfect.

 

Even here I have to stop. As I weep, I just cry out HALLELUJAH…HALLELUJAH!

 

Lord, Here’s My Worship!

 

With my heart open in a posture of worship, I receive a fresh touch, a special impartation. This is not the 1st time the Lord has had me up in the wee hours of the morning to speak to me. So Holy Spirit I thank you for a fresh touch, for fresh fire, for fresh oil, for fresh wind, for the indwelling of your Spirit.

 

“‘In the last days, God says,

 I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.’” Acts 2:17

 

Even in the midst of the vomit, the Lord sought to connect with me. The glory of the Lord filled my bedroom and I was saturated in His glory. Throw up and worship, who knew they’d go hand-N-hand? As my grandmother would say, the Lord works in mysterious ways. Oh Lord, I’m so grateful that you invite me into your presence to connect with you, to commune with you, to worship you.

 

Oh friends, be open and receptive to entering into worship in peculiar places at peculiar times. We cannot BOX our God in. He is not isolated in silos. He is omnipresent and He longs to connect with you.

 

Are you present and available?

 

Lord, Here’s My Worship.

 

Friends, won’t you join me?

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

 

Photo Credit
Happy to connect with friends at Grace & Truth Dance With Jesus, #SmallWonder

20May

The Dew In The Morning

Snow. Sleet. Rain. Dew.

 

God created many types of precipitation, each with a different purpose. He masterfully fashioned each to nourish and cleanse the earth. In taking a few minutes to bask in the now moment, my eyes landed on a spider web and I marveled at how droplets of water could cling and hold on to such a thin surface and it got me to thinking about those small yet mighty droplet of water; dew.

 

Dew On Web

 

 

What is dew?

 

Dew is the formation of water droplets that form at night as water condenses. As thin exposed objects lose heat their surface cools. When the surface cools and winds are calm or light, the condensed water vapor rests on the cooled surfaces. As the dew covers live surfaces, it provides nourishment.

 

May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine. Genesis 27:28

 

And I thought to myself, “Lord as I release the heat (frustration, worry, stress, anxiety, turmoil, warfare) and my surface (flesh) cools, allow your dew to fall on me. Lord, let your droplets nourish and cleanse me. Just as your dew clings to the thinnest of spider webs, let me cling just as desperately onto you. Come NOW dew of Hermon and sit and rest upon me.

 

God’s dew represents blessing, growth, abundance and prosperity. So how do we receive the dew?

 

Receive The Word

Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. Deuteronomy 32:2

 

Be Rooted In Him

When we are rooted in him, the dew comes.

My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches. Job 29:19

 

Blessings

Psalm 133:3 The dew of Hermon was said to have been so plentiful that is appeared as if a heavy rain had fallen. God wants to make His dew rain and rest on you.

 

When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, God sent dew in the morning. There was a layer of dew AROUND the camp. God will surround you with blessing and favor.

That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.

Exodus16:13

 

When the dew comes, so does the blessing. When the dew came, the manna came also.

When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down. Numbers 11:9

 

Dew is life giving and can resurrect dead things in your life.

But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. Isaiah 26:19

 

I pray these words collect in your spirit and rest there just as the dew rests on the grass. May you be cooled, nourished and refreshed by the dew in the morning.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

 

Feature Image Photo

Happy to connect with friends at  Grace &Truth and Dance With Jesus

13May

8 Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water

Sour. Tangy. And down right thirst quenching. That’s my take on lemon water. I drink it every day, all day and have been doing so for at least 6 years now. We’ve all been taught to drink our 8 cups a day. Why not up the benefits quotient of your daily water by adding lemon.

 

Lemon

 

It’s like holding the sun in your hands. Its color radiates brilliance. From being used in the 1700’s to successfully fight scurvy to today’s lemon water hype, the Lemon has:

 

~51% of your daily value of Vitamin C

~Vitamin B-6, Thiamin, Magnesium, and Potassium, among others.

~Antioxidant Power

 

8 Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water

 

It is suggested that lemon water:

~Makes Your Belly Flat

~Improves Digestion

~Helps The Liver Perform Optimally

~Keeps Sickness At Bay

~Helps Improve Acid/Alkaline Balance

~Helps Improve Skin

~Helps Increase Iron Absorption

~Is An Anti-Inflammatory

 

A few studies have been done to substantiate many of these claims. We can also surmise a few things that just MAKE SENSE as related to the benefits of drinking lemon water.

 

~Lemon does contain pectin fiber, which can help control hunger. So chances are that can help curb your eating thus impacting the belly.

~Lemon water can help relieve symptoms of indigestion and increase production of bile aiding digestion.

~The typical American diet is highly acidic. This causes a condition in the body called acidosis. Drinking lemon water can help bring acid/alkaline levels back into balance.

~Vitamin C is important in the formulation of collagen so yes drinking that lemon water would seem to make your skin glow and appear taut.

~Iron is more easily absorbed when paired with Vitamin C so add a squeeze of lemon juice to your protein or spinach for better iron absorption.

~Lemons are antioxidants which cut down free radicals, boost the immune system and help you heal faster.

 

Personally, I find that it quickly quenches my thirst. When drinking lemon water I am apt to do less mindless eating and I am satiated so that could contribute to keeping the belly from getting big. I rarely get sick, don’t have inflammation and my skin looks well. Should I attribute this to drinking the lemon water? All I’ll say is it’s working for me. And hey, even if you aren’t the recipient of all the wonderful things lemon water is touted to do, you can still feel good about yourself for having consistently drank water and adding the lemon wasn’t taking much of a risk. So go ahead and drink your lemon water.

 

For more on the benefits of lemons click here

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

 

Photo Credit

11May

The Blessing of Motherhood

Do you nurture? Are you responsible for the social, emotional, mental, physical and spiritual care of another? Then you my friend are a Mother. Even if you have not birthed any children from your womb, you are a Mother. Mother Teresa bore no children of her own, yet she was a mother to poor, needy and orphaned children, serving them for over 45 years.

 

There is a terrible hunger for love. 

We all experience that in our lives – the pain, the loneliness. 

We must have the courage to recognize it.
The poor you may have right in your own family.
Find them.
Love them.

~Mother Teresa

 

 Kiss Baby

Our culture today does not esteem the role of motherhood. In fact, that role has been demonized. We’ve even gone so far as to indoctrinate children through many popular animated films that the role of mother is unnecessary. Mother has systematically been erased from these films or is represented as an evil figure.

 

But God validates YOU Mother. He sees you right where you are. Just as El-Roi saw Hagar and opened her eyes and led her to the well, He sees you. Just as He led her to the water, He is leading us, Mothers, to Him and His word, the river of living waters.

 

Mother, do you see how vital you are to LIFE? You carry life, you give life, and you speak life. And you provide the most basic yet essential human need of life, LOVE.

 

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Mother You:

 

Nurture

~The bible says that Sarah, Hannah, Jochebed nursed their babies. Their children were held close as Mother provided life-sustaining nourishment.

 

Protect

~Jochebed, Moses’ mother hid him (Exodus 2:2). Mothers we have a responsibility to hide our children under shadow of the Almighty. When Herod was on the warpath killing all the little boys, Mary and Joseph fled to hide Jesus Mother, in what ways are you protecting your children from the evils of this world?

 

Provide

~Every year Hannah would return with a new robe for her son Samuel. Eunice and Lois provided spiritual training for Timothy. How are you providing for the spiritual, physical and emotional growth of your children?

 

Guide

~ When she could no longer hide him, Jochebed put Moses in a carefully constructed vessel and placed her daughter in position to look over him. She guided him along a stream of living water. To guide is to lead or facilitate, but not necessarily to do everything for. Are there some areas Mother where you need to remove your hands and just guide?

 

Pray

~Hannah was a woman of prayer (1 Samuel 1:11, 2:1-10). Mary was woman of prayer (Luke 1:46-55). Aaron, the first High Priest wore the names of the children of Israel on his breastplate. And when he would go to minister before the Lord, he bore their names on his chest. How are you bringing your children before the Lord in prayer?

 

Stand

~Elizabeth said NO to the naysayers and spoke up as to what the Lord told her about the child’s name. She knew people wouldn’t understand, but she didn’t let that intimidate her (Luke 1:60). So when the Lord makes a promise to you about one of your children, later for the naysayers, listen and follow the Lord.

~Mary told the angel let it be to me as you have stated even though she’d risk persecution from the community and rejection from Joseph. Mothers, be on guard, stand watch.

 

Beware

Do not fall into the mothering traps of:

~Sarah’s interfering in God’s plans by manufacturing your children’s lives (Genesis 18:12-15)

~Rebekah’s manipulation and lying (Genesis 27:5-17)

~Salome’s trying to manage the day-to-day affairs of her adult children’s lives (Matthew 20:20-21)

 

And because of your faithfulness, Mother you shall be blessed.

 

Blessings

~Mothers are visited by the Most High or His representatives (Mary, Elizabeth, Hannah, Shunammite Woman)

~Kings of peoples shall be from you (Genesis 17:16)

~The Lord will do for you what He promised (Genesis 21:1)

~Salvation (2 Timothy 2:15)

~Your children will take care of you (Jesus to John, behold your mother)

~Directly impact kingdom building by influencing generations of believers, even those yet to be born

 

Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

“Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all.”

Proverbs 31:28-29

 

So Mother, as I reflect post Mother’s Day, I honor you. I celebrate you. Let us rejoice together at the blessing of motherhood.

 

Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

 

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones

but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things

but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful

to Abraham and his descendants forever,

just as he promised our ancestors.”

Luke 1:46-55

 

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Women's Conference

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Mommy of 5

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

Feature Image Photo Credit
Happy to connect with friends @ #DanceWithJesus and Fellowship Friday’s

08May

Ratatouille

Who ever knew that I’d have a lot in common with a rat? Well, aside from having the nickname Ty-Rat as a child, I am a lot like Remy. Remy, a rat and the lead character in the children’s animated film Ratatouille and I both have highly developed senses of taste and smell. This enables us to taste something and recreate it. It also aids us in creating delicacies in the kitchen. Remy and I both spend hours pouring our hearts out into our pots. We both have a passion for food and enjoy blessing people by tantalizing the taste buds.

 

So here I pay homage to Remy. Thanks for the inspiration. I needed to do something with this eggplant and this spin on a classic came out just perfect.

And the kids love it too.

 

Ratatouille

 

1 large vidalia onion diced

1 medium eggplant diced

1 red bell pepper chopped

1 medium zucchini diced

3 medium tomatoes diced, separated

1 chipotle pepper in adobo

4 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp Himalayan salt

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cup vegetable broth.

Blend garlic, chipotle pepper and 2/3 of the diced tomato in blender. Heat stockpot on medium. Add olive oil. When hot add onion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add tomato mixture, all seasonings and cook additional 2 minutes. Add eggplant, peppers, broth and cook additional 5-7 minutes. Lastly, add zucchini and tomato and cook an additional 5-7 minutes or until zucchini is fork tender.

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Can’t you almost taste it? Go ahead and get to cooking. Enjoy!

ratatouille full

 

ratatouille angle

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

06May

How To Get Rest

Intel’s fastest PC processing chip does about 3.5 GHz. Perhaps my brain was clocking 8 GHz. Thoughts about managing people, projects, homework, housework, spiritual warfare, tenants, ministry events, oh not to mention my own health, appointments, helping others and the list goes on and on.

 

Then He gently whispered, “I will lead you beside still waters.”

 

This is something I’ve heard Him say before. In fact, He leads me beside still waters almost daily but then one of those sweet little people of mine find some way to encroach on my STILLNESS.

 

Then He whispered again, “I will lead you beside still waters.”

 

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So the day commences with a flurry of activity, make breakfast for 7 people, pack lunches for 5, drop one off extra early in the a.m. for music, drop 2 others, go somewhere else drop off one more. From there I’d normally rush back to get in some exercise but I told myself, “Break from the routine. Go to the park.” The park it is. There I exercised and had fun with my littlest guy. We were about to rush back to begin the next series of errands but God drew my attention to the pond. Just a stone’s throw to my left, the still waters.

 

“Come, sit with me a while,” he beckoned.

 

And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14

 

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So disregarding the voice in my head that wanted to rush out of the park to “Get things done” I heeded the voice of the Lord.

 

I squarely placed myself in the middle of the bench. My little guy climbed up beside me and rested his head on my lap. As I gaze out at the water, love, joy and peace overcame me.

 

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Truly my soul finds rest in God;

my salvation comes from him.

Truly he is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2

 

Newton’s 1st law of motion says:

 

An object that is in motion will stay in motion with the same speed and direction unless an external force acts upon it. An object that is at rest will stay at rest unless an external force acts upon it. The unbalanced force changes the state of motion. This law of generally called the law of inertia.

 

From this we can deduce that we will keep doing what we usually do unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Glory be to God that it is HE who wants to tilt me in His direction. He provides the imbalance so that I can recalibrate and find my balance in Him and in Him alone. When I REST in Him, I am refreshed and renewed. My peace is like a river and my joy is full. He said in His presence there is fullness of joy.

 

When He beckons you to be still, to come sit a while, don’t disregard His prompting. Heed the voice of God. In Him is how to get rest.

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Caring for the temple requires proper nourishment, exercise and REST. Be intentional about getting rest today. Perhaps you could:

 

~Have quiet time

~Take a nap

~Get adequate sleep

~Embrace the now moment

 

What will you do today to purposefully get rest?

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It is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

  1. Happy to connect with friends at Fellowship Friday’s & Dance With Jesus 
04May

Under Attack

The three attacks came. Right on the heels of each another. Within 48 hours, three incidents that completely floored me. I was under attack.

 

I am a person who walks around with rose-colored lenses on. I hope for the best and believe the best about people. So I was completely caught off guard when I was attacked and at church no less.

 

And to make matters worse, I was coming off a week of being totally immersed in the presence of the Holy Spirit. So engulfed was I in His presence that I didn’t see it coming. I open, accessible and vulnerable. After the attacks, I was left feeling hurt, wronged and violated.

 

One physical attack to my body. From face to feet, full body rash. Guess now I know I’m allergic to a particular type of antibiotic. This is exactly why I don’t take medicine. But I trusted the Dr. and I didn’t want my thumb to fall off or create another series of problems so I consented to taking this medication. Well, guess it caused another problem after all. So here I was with this full body rash and was scheduled to speak early the next morning on the topic of “Restoration of the Body”. I was self conscious about what to wear because I had red alligator skin from head to toe. Even my lips were swollen. But God is faithful. My friend helped me select a dress that covered most of the redness and prayer helped calm my nerves.

 

That was immediately followed by vicious attacks from people. My heart is hurting just thinking about it. All my heart wants to do is encourage, support and love people and to have that stepped on and crushed is devastating.

 

The pain from these events caused me to:

 
~Emotionally Eat

I ate a box of Junior Mint and I don’t normally eat candy. But it was comforting to mindlessly eat something sugary. I did resist the urge to get a big cup of coffee. I only wanted the coffee as a means to assuage my hurt feelings.

 

~Want To Give Up

I clearly know the things God has called me to do. And I’ve readily said yes to carry them out. But when faced with personal attacks, I questioned the Lord and wondered why I even bother coaching, supporting, giving, encouraging. My thoughts were, ”Really Lord?! Do I need this drama? I can just be at home, caring for me and mine.” I even told my friend as much. To which she quickly reminded me of the truth. This is a spiritual battle and I must engage accordingly. So when you find yourself engaged in battle, there is no need to panic, flee or overreact. Take a deep breath and engage by using the tools in your arsenal.

 

 

PRAY

Ask God to give you eyes to see and ears to hear the truth in the situation

Pray for all parties, entities involved

 

PROTECT

Put On Your Armor (Ephesians 6:10-20)

Take Cover (Psalm 91)

Know that Jehovah Sabaoth, The Lord of Hosts goes before you

When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

 

PRAISE

Your praise is your battle cry

Praise Him that you’ve already secured the victory

This is the chorus to a song I love. It reminds me God is on my side, Chris Tomlin’s Whom Shall I Fear

I know who goes before me

I know who stands behind

The God of angel armies

Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever

He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies

Is always by my side”

 

Be encouraged friends. When you are purposefully pursuing Christ, fiery darts will come your way to try to deflate you, distract you and discourage you. But God! You are an overcomer. You are a valiant soldier. You are victorious!

 

Let us pray. I lift my eyes to the hills, where my help comes from. Jehovah Sabaoth, Lord of Hosts, who is mighty in battle, thank you for loving me and protecting me. You are a very present help in the time of trouble. If You, Oh God are for me, who can be against me? I am more than a conqueror through You who loves me. Let every tongue that rises against me in judgment be put to shame. Let every plot, trap and scheme of the enemy be cancelled in Jesus’ name. Lord I thank you for the intercessors that are praying on my behalf. May you bless them indeed. Thank you for giving your angels charge over me. Thank you for securing the victory!

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to connect with friends @ Fellowship Friday’s

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