And Hurry!

I've been teaching Samuel the scripture in Galations 5 about the fruit of the spirit - Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control...We've been talking about it, doing little activities to learn them, and I've been trying to point out when I see him demonstrating one of the qualities like joy, patience, or self-control.

Soooooo,  this morning he and Luke were both playing at my feet in the kitchen floor with spoons, an empty oatmeal box, and tupperware.

We're getting to a new phase where Luke wants what Samuel has and tries to grab it.  Therefore, some jerking away and scuffling began to ensue.  Samuel is saying things like, "That's mine Luke. Get away!"  I took the opportunity to pipe up and say, "You know, Samuel it sounds like you need to ask God to give you kindness right now."  Without, hesitation he says, "God, give me kindness."  I quickly affirmed him that he did a great job of asking God for what he needed right then.



 Not that anything changed, but I was just impressed that he seemed to agree that he needed help right then.  I continued to do whatever I was doing with the two of them still playing in the floor.  Of course I promptly hear more scuffling, grabbing, and protesting behind me.

 Then I hear Samuel say, "God, give me kindness.  And hurry!"  Oh my goodness!  I cracked up!!  I guess for Luke's sake, God needed to hurry up with the kindness.

Pumpkin Granola Bars

 One of the things I've been doing lately is trying to learn and get in the habit of making things myself that I normally buy at the grocery store.  I have several motivations for this.  First, I'm simply trying to get creative in living a more frugal lifestyle.  I think there are other ways to save besides just clipping coupons.  I mainly clip coupons for non food items like hygiene products and paper goods.  My second motivator is that I'm trying to help our family become healthier by eating more whole foods and less foods with chemicals and additives.  For example, we love granola and granola bars for snacks but when I got to reading the ingredients on the box they all contain high fructose corn syrup and ten other things I can't pronounce.  Now, before you start feeling inferior let me just say I'm not on any kind of an "all organic" high horse.  Trust me!  We do the best we can, but I'm not out to change the world in this department.  Just trying to make small changes here and there that will make a difference.  My third motivator is that when we get to Africa, I want to be able to make things we enjoy that we won't necessarily be able to access there.  Plus, I just LOVE being able to be at home and bless my family with my domestic creativity.  Okay, so there you have it.

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I thought I'd share this Pumpkin Granola Bar recipe we've all quickly come to love.  

 Here are the ingredients.  These basically came from me combining a few recipes I found online then adding or substituting with items I had on hand.

3 cups Whole Rolled Oats

2 Tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice or cinnamon

1/2 Tsp. Salt

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup Pumpkin

1/4 cup Applesauce

1/4 cup Honey

1 Tsp. Vanilla

1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins

1/2 cup of nuts (walnuts, almond slivers, whatever!)

handful of ground flaxseed

 My right hand man was up close and ready to help!

Combine Oats, Salt, Spices, and Flax in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl mix together brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, and honey

Then combine it all together (with your hands or your toddler's hands!).

After that, add in the dried fruit and nuts.

Cover a large baking sheet with foil and lightly spray it with cooking spray.  Place all the ingredients in a large ball on the sheet.  Then press it down into a big rectangle to the thickness you prefer. 

Bake it in the oven on 350 for around 35 minutes.  Watch the edges, so you don't get them too dark.  I've found the bars will harden even more once they're out of the oven.  

You can use a pizza cutter to cut the granola into bars and let them cool on a wire rack.  

With this recipe, I can get up to eleven good sized bars.  It's been great to throw them in Tyson's lunch or grab a few for the car for snacks when we're out running errands.  

Can you tell he liked them??

Moving Forward (Part 2)

I wrote Moving Forward (Part I) to share where we were in the process of getting back to Africa, and am continuing to share our journey as we go along.  We finished up our stay with friends and realized we would be in the states several more months as we raise more funds and continue preparations.  Once again, we have seen God's hand move on our behalf.  We found a nice comfortable place to lease in a great location.  We're very close to Tyson's job, and just around the corner from great friends.  The owner has been very gracious to us and is giving us super flexible lease terms in support of what we're
trying to do.  Since unpacking again, it has allowed us to do even more sorting and downsizing of things we don't need.  I'm convinced now, one must go through their things several times to keep clearing out the clutter.  It's just amazing how quickly we accumulate STUFF isn't it?  Therefore, we've been doing a lot of craigslisting and Goodwill drop offs.  Feels good for sure!  Having our own space again has been good for us as a family.  Samuel really likes it here.  I'm trying to do "Preschool" time with him on a regular basis because he just soaks it up and loves to be challenged with new activities.  Luke is growing and changing faster than we can keep up.  He's finally gotten a tooth and is beginning
to crawl.  Best of all, he gives kisses now!!! :)  

We are finally feeling settled in at the moment and turning our focus back to establishing our support team for moving full time to Africa.  This process has been good for us on many fronts and will continue to be I'm sure.  We're learning to live a more interconnected, interdependent life with those God has put around us.  We are learning to be more vulnerable and transparent.  Everything in me screams for independence at times.  Just ask my husband!!  I'm naturally a very independent person, so I need God to infuse me with His nature on a daily basis.  I'm reminded as I reflect that we were all created for relationship.  We were meant to live reciprically giving and receiving to experience the fullness of what He has for us.  It's just so darn contrary to my nature, but when I surrender and humble myself and TRUST, then peace and joy follow.

Practically speaking...We're wrapping up a newsletter that we are sending out sharing details about what we'll be doing and inviting folks to invest in us and the work being done in Mozambique. Side note: If you don't think you're on our mailing list but would like to be, please email us or PM me on facebook(our email is at the bottom of this blog) and we'd be excited to ad you.  

If you feel drawn to do so, we'd greatly appreciate your prayers for us.   The opportunity to get discouraged or doubtful seems to come knocking frequently.  The day we left Mozambique to come home almost two years ago, the team gathered around and prayed for us for a safe return and for the Lord's help to get back in His timing.  As they were praying, I kept hearing the phrase "faces like flint" in my mind over and over.  This has since become one of our theme verses on this journey,

"Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced.  Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.  ~Isaiah 50:7

So, onward we walk looking for the beauty that today holds right here where we are desiring to be vessels of His love and grace as we set our faces like flint towards moving our family to serve in Africa.  Step by step....  

Blessings over you!!!

Gina

Rainy Day Expeditions