A Fire Worth Living For

Tomorrow I'm starting a 30 day fast from the internet. 


This should be interesting. I think I'll write a book about it haha. jk. sort of. I've been wanting to for a while and today I feel called to do it. Take the plunge. Stop caring about money I make from my etsy shop. Stop caring if I become a food network star who makes baby food recipes. Stop "favoriting" items on etsy in hopes that one day I can buy it for the home I don't have. Stop dreaming about things that could happen, and actually go out and make things happen. 


I won't be able to find recipes online. I won't be able to research about the lifespan of a fruit fly with the touch of a screen on my iPhone. I won't be able to check my status on facebook every five seconds. 


I might have to go to the library or get out of the house and do shopping in a REAL store. but all of that is good for me. and good for you, too. so go out and do it and stop eating bon bons on the couch while you watch 30 minute meals with rachel ray reruns.


Besides all of this, I will be making a really great sacrifice for my daughter. Right now, she is playing on the floor alone while I am typing this. Tomorrow we could be doing puzzles and building sky scrapers. I will be making a sacrifice for myself. Today while Sienna took her nap, I thought "maybe I should research some info about her birthday party" aka: go on etsy and waste time. Instead I decided I should clean my room and organize the hall closet. My room is looking much neater and my hall closet is now organized (praise the Lord) something I've been meaning to do for a few months now. I also dedicated a small space to my "art supplies" and now I have less clutter and more things I can actually work with. I feel cleaner and less stressed. Which brings me to the fact that it will be a sacrifice for my husband. He does NOT like the clutter around our room hah. He also comes home to a wife who is sitting on the computer. a wife who doesn't go to bed at the same time as him. even though she is exhausted, but wants to "surf the web" instead. hah. He will have more time with me, he will have more life with me. (hint, maybe you should give up movies for me, Jeremy :) and I'm excited to spend the time with my family.


Most of all, this will be a great sacrifice for God. The other day I was reading Malachi. Basically, God became angry with them for offering animals that weren't the best ones they had.

" 'When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?' says the LORD Almighty." Malachi 1:8

“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands

-Malachi 1:10

This passage reminded me that sometimes we show a faith that is not really a faith at all. We just go through life doing all the things we know we're not supposed to do - not swearing, not having sex before marriage, not divorcing our husband, not going to bed angry, not stealing our neighbor's donkey, not coveting our neighbor's wife - and we do all the things we know we are supposed to do. In doing this, we don't really listen to God, we don't really care that much about him. We are just lighting useless fires. 

I want a real fire. I want a fire that is the Spirit itself. I want to be an inspiration for others, but not because I am an inspiration, but because Jesus lives in me and others can see that and see beyond me to God's great mercy and the good news of the gospel. 

See ya in 30 days. :)

Blueberries, etc.

I love this recipe. I found it in "Top 100 Baby Purees" by Annabel Karmel. 

Its a great recipe because you don't have to stick to it. 

You can change it up however you like.

Sienna holding her own spoon... at least she wasn't dropping it on the floor :)

AGE: 6+ months

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Blueberries
1 extra juicy Peach
1 ripe Pear
(after 14 months you can add rice cereal to thicken)

...:::Hold off on ALL grains until about 14 months, babies don't have the enzymes to digest them, despite what doctors suggest about rice cereal, though once baby is 14 months feed them the rice cereal first:::...

Directions:

Wash the fruit. Dry immediately (especially the berries, they will absorb water if left in too long). Peel, core and chop the pear and peach. Make sure there aren't any stems on the blueberries - this is common to find if bought from the farmer's market.

Put the fruit into a small sauce pan over low heat and cover. Stir occasionally. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Puree in a food processor.

Refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

........................................................


VARIATIONS:
Add an apricot, nectarine, or pitted/stemmed cherries.
You can use cherries instead of blueberries.
Use the apricot instead of the peach.
Use two nectarines instead of a pear.
be creative. :)

Triple this recipe and freeze.

Resources

Here are a few resources I've found helpful in buying organic food. They come from sources I trust for my family and they are also pretty to look at! (bonus!!) Do you and your family a favor and check them out! Even if you already buy organic food, its worth reading. :) Hope you enjoy!

1. EWG's Shopper Guide to Pesticides

Reasons why I love it:

• This website is great for telling you what's worth buying 
• provides a FAQ page with questions such as "Do pesticides pose special risks to growing children?" , "Shouldn't I try to buy everything organic?" , "Why should I be concerned about pesticides?"
• there is an app for the iPhone titled "dirty dozen" & its free

2. Real Simple Magazine's Online Organic Food Guide 

Reasons why I love it:

• There are multiple articles to read concerning organic food. 
• Tells you how to "decode" food labels. (What does "fat-free" mean? What does "organic" mean? What does "heart-healthy" mean?)
• Provides recipes at the bottom of the article titled "Ten Organic Foods that are Worth the Money"

FINALLY

Finally, a moment to blog.

Lately I've been such a busy, busy bee. My daughter has been teething, had a fever for a few days, we went on vacation, etc., etc., excuses, excuses, etc.

So here is a really great recipe that I made :)
Sienna hates carrots. She won't eat 'em. Raw. Steamed. Pureed. Nothin.

So I sneak them into other food. & here is a recipe she really liked:

Carrots, Corn & Onions:


Portions:
Two cobs organic corn
1/2 of a small onion (or 1/4 of a medium-large one)
3 medium organic carrots
about a tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup of water

Directions:
Remove the kernals from the cobs. Dice the onions into very small pieces. Peel, chop & dice the carrots. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan. Saute for a few minutes, about 3. Add the water. Bring the water to a boil & then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the carrots are soft, 15-20 min.

Puree in a food processor to a consistency baby can handle. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.



Note: I would not reccommend this to babies less than 9 months. Corn is difficult for baby to digest. I would also reccommend giving this to baby as a snack rather than a meal, especially the first time she eats it.