Correcting Through God's Word

Let me start this blog post with a huge helping of humility pie and a reality about me and my family - I am NOT the perfect parent nor are my children perfect kids.  I hesitate to share this post simply because I would never want any of you to feel like I have it figured out or I "must" be a good parent.  We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world and I have my fair share of moments with my kids I wish I could do over and there are days no matter how I correct my children they are bent on fighting with each other and I'm tearing them apart over a barbie head that Cole just "had" to pull of the body!  (drives me bananas and I often think if I am sane by the time my kids hit 21 it will be a miracle straight from Jesus)

That being said, using Scripture to correct children in the midst of discipline is something my husband and I have always tried to do.  It has come up recently in several conversations and at the urging of my friend Brittany I decided it was time to write on this subject.  So read this blog knowing I'm not perfect and my kids are still young 10 8 and 6 - meaning I can't say "look how they turned out follow my recipe"  cause they are still in the oven baking!

Here is how my husband and I arrived at our decision to correct through scripture:

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I know this isn't rocket science, but since scripture says that God's word is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting and training for the purpose of equipping (which pretty much sums up our job as parents) we felt we should correct through God's Word.  You see God's Word is sharper than any 2 edged sword and most of the times when correction is needed with my children it is a heart issue.  Sure there was a bad behavior but the behavior is simply a symptom of a bigger heart issue.  Ben and I know that our words are just words, but God's Word is alive and active and if anything can change a heart issue in our children it would be God's Word not ours.  It also takes us out of the correction and makes a bad behavior an issue between God and my children.  

Lets take Complaining as the example:  if I am seeing a repetition of complaining coming out of my children I'll sit them down and pull out the Bible we will read a couple of verses about what God has to say about complaining like :

• Matthew 12:34 - 35 For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.  A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.  
• Philippians 2:14-15 Do everything without grumbling or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.  

Together we will read through these scriptures, talk about the meaning and why God would have verses in the Bible on complaining and why it is important for us to watch what words are coming out of our mouth.  We will take a couple minutes to pray and ask God to help us not complain and instead to help us store up good.  Then throughout the rest of the day if we catch ourselves complaining I can remind my children not of my words but of God's Word on complaining.  (oh and side note the kids love catching me too! Scripture is equally good at correcting Mommy and kid!)

Often times we will come up with a sign for the verse too.  Like the Matthew 12:34 - 35 verse led to us talking about our words being like throw up (gross I know but I've got a boy so run with me on this!)  We can throw up good words out of our mouth or gross nasty stinky complaining words.  When I hear my kids complaining I can simply gesture like I am throwing up and they will give me a smile and know that God's word talks about not "throwing up" complaints from our mouth and the conversation is changed.  I especially love this when we are out at a friends house or in public that I can simply bring God's word to their mind by a gesture.

There are times when situations are more serious like when I see anger or fighting that I will sit my kids down and make them write out the scripture or even memorize the scripture and consequences come too with these types of bad behavior.

Also if I notice a certain behavior becoming a pattern like laziness I'll make sure our family devotion time centers around that theme.  I have noticed that when I proactively parent in this manner a lot of times the Holy Spirit will convict my kids and I won't see the laziness come up again without me ever having to correct it.

We have to remember as parents that each time a bad behavior needs to be corrected it is simply another chance for us to help mold and shape our children and direct them back to Christ.  It is a beautiful gift we have as parents to watch the Holy Spirit transform our children lives.  My prayer is always that I never get to busy to notice His transformation in them.  The beauty of correcting through Scripture is that I become more and more dependent on God's Word and He molds and shapes me in my dependency of Him.

Cacao No-Bake Cookies

If there is one thing my kids love it is chocolate chip cookies.  Don't get me wrong, I love them too but the amount of sugar and butter and flour in these cookies made me cringe each time I watched them consume another batch.

I recently have been on a Cacao kick, see my other post about delicious Cacao sauce.  As I was trying to come up with wonderful things to do with this sauce the No Bake Cookie recipe was invented and it is an instant success.  They aren't the prettiest cookie but the taste makes up for the look and there is no eggs, flour, or sugar in these cookies!

My kids said I never have to make chocolate chip cookies again!  The best part is the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of raw local organic honey which my daughter does not like, but she likes it in these cookies and magically (not magically - honey rocks) her allergies have completely disappeared since she started eating these cookies!  I also love that during these summer months I don't have to turn on my oven, just plop these cookies into the freezer and they are done!

As with all my recipes I always use organic, local and raw if the option is available.  I don't always list this but I highly recommend organic local and raw at all times!

Ingredients:
2 cups of oats
2 cups of granola (I use a pumpkin flax seed but any granola will do)
1 cup of cacao sauce (see my previous post for this recipe)
1/2 cup of peanut butter (or sunflower butter, almond butter, there are tons out there to choose from)
1/2 cup of local raw honey

Directions:
Mix everything together.  Depending on types of oats or granola you might need a little more cacao sauce.  When mixed everything should be well coated like the picture below -

Drop cookies onto cookie sheet covered with wax or parchment paper.  I have found that smaller cookies are best (it's a little easier to eat)  Place cookies into the freezer.  The cacao sauce is made with coconut oil which hardens when cold (it only takes about 10 minutes)

Feel free to adjust the amount of cacao, honey and nut butter to whatever your preference.  My son is allergic to peanut butter so I actually make him a batch with no nut butter at all just honey and cacao.  I've also made these with no honey just more nut butter and cacao.  There is no exact science to this recipe (my kind of recipe - I love just throwing stuff together!)  These no bakes are the perfect cool summer cookie!

Hope you enjoy let me know if you make them and how they turned out!

Healthy Chocolate?!?

If there is one thing I do love it is chocolate and when I found cacao I swooned!  Healthy chocolate - I didn't even know this was possible.  So what is cacao?  Cacao is the dried fatty seeds from evergreen trees  that are used to make cocoa, chocolate and cocoa butter.  Unlike cocoa or chocolate cocoa where the cacao bean has been roasted and processed, Cacao is raw and crushed to powder form.  The heat used to process cocoa kills all nutritional goodness.  However, cacao is packed full of fatty acids, fiber, iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, calcium, and iron!  Chocolate that is good for you, I have died and gone to heaven!

Cacao is usually bough in powder form and can be found in most stores in the "raw" section of foods. I bought cacao a while ago and then it sat in my pantry forever cause I didn't know how to use it.  But I have learned and must share this deliciousness with you!  

Cacao sauce is super easy to make, it's made with coconut oil (which is also super good for you!) and agave syrup.  Here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup cacao powder

4 T coconut oil

4 T agave syrup

1 t vanilla extract (you don't have to add this to the recipe it just turns out a little sweeter if you do!)

Directions:

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender.  A hand mixer doesn't work very well and it will still be a little gritty.  Blend till all grit is gone and it is a smooth consistency.  

Uses:

My favorite way of eating the cacao sauce is to dip fruit it in.  Because the recipe has coconut oil which hardens when cold you can dip fruit then put it in the fridge or freezer and you get the most yummy hard shell chocolate on fruit.  The sauce is also great with ice-cream or yogurt, I make banana ice-cream with my juicer and use the chocolate with that.  And tomorrow I will be posting a no bake cookie recipe that I use this sauce for too!  So stay tuned!

Guacamole GUACAMOLE - oh how I love you!

If there is one guilty pleasure in my life (outside of coffee) it's guac.  It is my comfort food, late night snack, middle of the day snack, hanging out with girlfriends talking snack.  I just love it!  Been asked a few times recently for my recipe so here it is - though it is nothing amazing very simple ingredients!

Avocado (I usually use at least 4 - why make a bowl if it isn't going to be big!)
Cilantro (is there such thing as too much cilantro in guacamole?!?)
Onion (I like purple onions in my guac but any onion will do, I usually use about a half an onion chopped small )
Fresh Lemon or Lime Juice (usually half)
Garlic (not too much a little goes a long way)
2 tomatoes (chopped small)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix everything together in a bowl and serve with chips or crackers (or even with a spoon if you are desperate!)

Citrus Salad Dressing

 I have been on a major fresh salad dressing kick so get ready for a few yummy salad dressing recipes.  With the hot weather salad is about the only thing I can stomach right now so I've been getting creative with making my own salad dressings - something I've never done before but so far everything I've tried has turned out great.

This recipe is for a citrus salad dressing.  I made my dressing with limes but it would taste equally as good with lemons or maybe even a really strong orange.

Here are the ingredients and then I'll go through step by step on directions!
- 4 T Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
- 4 T fresh lime lemon or orange juice
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (if you are putting this in a blender you don't need to chop)
- 4 T raw honey (you can use regular honey but raw honey is SO much better for you and tastes way better!)
- 1 t sea salt
-1/2 t fresh cracked pepper
-1/2 cup Braggs olive oil (I've also used coconut oil and it's turned out great)
-1/2 t fresh or dried oregano

Directions
Put all ingredients into a blender (or use a submersion hand blender)

Mix in the blender till everything seems smooth and serve.  I served mine with this salad and my husband said it was the best salad he has ever had!  Wahoo!

My salad is a mixed greens with onions, corn, black beans, carrots, avocado, red peppers, and cucumber!  This dressing is so good you could use it with just about anything though!  This is just what I had in my fridge on the day I made the dressing!

Hope you like the recipe!

Fool Proof French Bread

I can't think of anything I love baking in my kitchen more than this french bread recipe.  My house smells amazing for hours and the taste of warm bread with raw honey on it is to die for!  For a long time I avoided baking bread as it seemed so complicated.  If they had to invent a bread machine to help woman make bread it must be complicated right?!?  Then one day I looked at the loaf of bread I bought at the store and saw the list of 20+ ingredients that I couldn't pronounce and I was determined to try to make bread.

I tried many recipes - a LOT failed or my kids hated them!  But finally I found this recipe and I couldn't be happier!  5 ingredients, my kids LOVE it and on average we make 4 loafs a week.  We use this bread for grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, veggie sandwiches, french toast, and garlic bread - it really is the use for everything bread!  The recipe is super simple, my daughters who are 10 and 8 help make it (you'll see Haylie "helping" in a minute!) and I have not ever had a loaf turn out bad.  The bread does not freeze well - fresh is best!  I also use this bread to make bread crumbs for my black bean burgers and for homemade chicken strips for the kids!

 Here is a list of ingredients and I will go through each step so you can see how simple this recipe is!

Ingredients
- 2 1/2 t active dry yeast
- 1 t salt
- 1 T butter (melted)
- 2 1/2 C HOT water
- 7 cups of flour (you can use any kind of flour you want, white, wheat, spelt, gluten free, bread flour.  I've tried them all and nothing hasn't turned out yet, sometimes they turn out a little more dry than other times especially the spelt.  I usually do a mix with wheat and spelt or whatever flour I happen to have in my pantry)

Here are the directions - I promise it is easy!

Heat your bowl (if you have a mixer heat up your mixer bowl if you are making this by hand heat up whatever bowl you are using)  After the bowl is hot add your 2 1/2 cups of hot water

Next add your yeast and let it sit and froth up, use a spoon to help dissolve the yeast completely.  If there are a couple of chunks it's no big deal the goal is mostly dissolved like this -

Now add in your salt, butter, and flour and mix!  If you have a mixer use your dough hook and let the mixer do the hard work for you!  Mix in your mixer on a lower speed for about 7 minutes or until the dough stops sticking to the bowl.  If you don't have a mixer this is where you just have to mix and kneed till the dough turns out nice and smooth.  It will stop sticking to the bowl when it is done.

 
Now I did mention that my daughters make this bread and though I love their help in the kitchen this recipe "somehow" ends with Haylie looking like this every time!

Thought you might enjoy the cute visual!  She really is an awesome help in the kitchen and always loves to make things fun while she works!  Love love love her silly heart!

Once the dough is mixed pour a little oil into a large bowl (it can be any kind of oil vegetable, canola, you could even use your Pam spray if you have it)  Coat the bowl and then put the entire lump of dough into the bowl and turn once so it is covered in the oil.  See it's shiny!

Cover with a tea cloth (meaning some type of towel that does not have lint - you don't want lint sticking to your bread) and let it rise for one hour.  This is probably the most tricky part - not forgetting you have bread rising!

Here is my cute tea towel my mother in law gave me at Easter and it has become my staple bread making towel!  (Thanks Sally!)

Once it has risen it should look like this!  Did I mention big bowl?!?  This dough will more than double in size!

Split the dough in half and roll out one loaf at a time.  I use my cookie sheet and roll out my bread on the cookie sheet.  It won't stick so you won't need to flour the surface or anything to special.  Once you have your cookie sheet covered -

roll your dough long ways like a snake.  Make sure as you roll you squeeze gently (you will get air pockets if you don't - learned that the hard way)  Once you have your snake you want to tuck in the ends, do this by folding the ends in on themselves.

Again cover and let rise for an hour!  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Bake for 15 minutes!  Here's our finished results!  Hope you enjoy let me know if you try it!