Sweeties and Sweets….

Nope, this blog post is not about Canadian candy that we call Smarties here in the U.S….

It is about 2 things in my life with which I need to set boundaries and be moderate in my intake…see the previous blog post for a bit of background here:

https://robynlooksup.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/moderation-balance-biblical/

First, Sweeties?  I am talking about our Sweethearts…or rather our lack of Sweethearts, or our dreams about our sweethearts, or what we wish they might do (ahem)…And for this, I am going to point you to a great post written by my good friend, Sundi Jo Graham, about romantic movies.  Please do continue reading at the bottom of her blog to find my comment and the thoughts that I could have written a blog about myself!

http://www.sundijo.com/eight-reasons-why-i-hate-romantic-movies/

As for “Sweets”?

Well, unless you have been living under a carb-free rock for the last, I don’t know, millennium, you know that too much sugar is bad for you.  For some, even too much natural sugar from fruit can be bad!  Again, moderation.  I am a sweets-lover.  So, it is amazing too me when something is actually too sweet for me…and I definitely have to talk to myself and say, “you don’t HAVE to have something sweet after every meal.”  Brushing my teeth usually helps. That being said, there is another point here about balance that could be made…both Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine tell us that we need to be balanced in our “tastes” at every meal, or we may actually become unbalanced.  So, when you keep yourselves from anything sweet all the time, it is normal and healthy to feel you need some…thank the Lord He made some good ones!  (And by the way, in those traditions mentioned, sweet doesn’t necessarily mean, sugary…sometimes it is another food, say for example, rice or oats that has a natural “sweet flavor” and balances out other tastes in the meal that be salty, pungent, bitter, what-have-you.  Also, I have heard it said that when one is craving sweets, they are lacking some “sweet” in their lives, so it is something to certainly to go to Our Father about and ask…and it may just be more time with Him that you are craving!)

ANYWAY.

It’s time for my awesome segue…

I love sharing healthy recipes with you, and since it is that time of year when sweets abound all around us, how about a sweet and healthy pie?

You may all be done with pie at this point, so feel free to skip away, but if you have another big holiday coming up and would like to serve something tasty that you can feel good about, maybe this is your option?

We did not have a “traditional” Thanksgiving this year…we went down to have lunch with my Grandmother in the nursing home, so we didn’t have to cook!  (Afterwards, we went to see the new Muppet movie.  It is Amazing, fyi.)  So, between my mom, hubby, and I, we are spreading out some of our “traditional” dishes through the holiday season, a little at a time.

I had seen a few recipes for “Raw Pumpkin Pie” this year, and after looking at them with sweet hubby, decided on one.  The funny thing is, we both like Pumpkin Pie, but it is not our favorite, so after getting a few of the ingredients (I had the rest already), I wondered, what I had been thinking?

Plus, we never got around to carving our pumpkin before Halloween (can we say totally busy and tired and out-of-balance?), so we had a perfectly good one ready to carve up for a pie…but it was HUGE!

And, I had just sent my BlendTech off to be repaired while it was under warranty (has been making an odd noise), so I was going to have to use my small food processor.

All of these little insights led me to only make HALF of this recipe and divide it between 4 little silicone tart pans to make my “Raw Pumpkin Pie Tartlets”.

Raw Pumpkin Pie (from Hallelujah Acres website)

http://www.hacres.com/recipes/cards/raw-pumpkin-pie

Submitted By: Jackie Graff – Sprout Raw Food

A sweet, tasty Holiday dessert with absolutely no baking involved!

(This is the full recipe; to do what I did, divide by half.  You will have a little extra filling, as well.)

Ingredients

• 1 avocado, peeled and seeded
• ½ cup raw honey
• 4 dates soaked in 1 cup filtered water
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup raw macadamias soaked 8 hours and drained (I used raw almonds because it is what I had)
• 4 cups raw pumpkin, peeled and seeded
• 1 cup organic raisins
• 1 tsp psyllium
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds, washed, soaked for 8 hours, drained and dehydrated for 6 – 8 hours (I did not do this; I used Cashew Creme instead)
• **1 date nut crust variation from The Hallelujah Diet Book (as opposed to the crust actually listed with this recipe.  For me, the other was easier, and I have used it many times before.)

Directions

1. Place macadamias  (almonds) along with dates and their soak water into blender (or food processor) and blend until smooth.
2. Add avocado, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pumpkin and blend until very smooth.
3. Add psyllium and blend well. Let this mixture sit for 1-2 minutes and blend well again.
4. Fold in raisins.
5. Pour into piecrust and top with ½ cup of pumpkin seeds. (or cashew creme, as I did)

**Date and Nut crust Variation: As I was running low on almonds, but had plenty of almond flour, I combined 1 cup of almond flour with 1/2 cup of dates, and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp sea salt in my food processor with 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup honey until it gathered into a ball…I then separated it into 4 sections, pressing each into a little tartlet pan.  When the filling was ready, I scooped it into the pans and placed them into the fridge to chill while I made the Cashew Creme.

Nomi Shannon’s (The Raw Gourmet) Cashew Creme

DIRECTIONS

Soak cashews overnight. Drain. Put in blender with just enough water to allow blender to do its job. Add only enough water to make it smooth, then add dates one at a time, or agave syrup or maple syrup to sweeten, taste for sweetness. You want to achieve a fluffy whipped-cream type consistency. I like it best when vanilla is added too.

1 cup of cashews will make 1 1/2 or more cups of cashew crème. (I only used 1/2 cup of soaked cashews.)

–for more great raw dessert recipes by Nomi Shannon, go to:

http://rawgourmet.com/recipes#dessert

The verdict?  Yum!  Before I added the pumpkin, I noticed that the filling tasted a bit like Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal, if you have ever had THAT. And I love that flavor!  The pumpkin really didn’t change that, either.

Here is my precaution:  These little dudes are SWEET.  I mean, so super sweet!  Like, I only ate 1/3 of mine (one tartlet) the first night!  The next morning, I used part of the rest (of the same tartlet) as my sweetener in my oatmeal!  And then at lunch, I used the last bit as a sweetener/thickener in my green smoothie!  So, if you like sweets, you will enjoy this, but know that it might not be as hard as usual to exercise moderation…IF you are eating consciously, and not while watching TV or something else distracting…

Do  they taste like Pumpkin Pie?  A bit.  Really, they do!  The spices are spot-on…I think the sweetness threw me a little at first, but then, I think Pumpkin Pie itself is super sweet, so there ya go…

Whatever you decide, know that these are nutrient giving, life-in-your-cells enhancing treats…

Also, since we had soooo much pumpkin left, I chopped or grated the rest into fry shapes and noodle shapes to use as a fun vegetable all winter!  Let’s hear it for pumpkin fries and pasta, and being a good steward with what God has given us!  AND, Jon roasted the seeds.  Num.

Here’s to moderation…and moderation of your moderation, sometimes.  I pray you seek Our Lord for His Sweetness, in love and life, every part you can…

With a great big, non-pumpkin-innards-covered fingers hug (cuz my sweetie was my hero and scooped them out FOR ME!),

Robyn

Produce makes me Happy (!), but JESUS MAKES ME HAPPIER!

Soooooo, what a week this has been!  So blessed, but full of highs and lows and growth opportunities!

Last Saturday night, I came home to find this:

Produce makes me happy, but Jesus makes me HappiER!!!

Let me just tell you, THAT is one of the happiest sights for me ever to lay my eyes on…Produce that has already been washed and is now drying next to the sink…I love my hubby so much!  What a wonderful man!

So, that produce was destined for both making a green juice and making a particular salad a day or two later…seeing it there when I got home inspired me RIGHT THEN to make the aforementioned salad. The weather was perfect, I was about to have a day off, and I just couldn’t wait!

What salad you ask?  “Candace’s Famous Chopped Salad”!

I admit, and no offense, Candace, I had not heard of it before either…=-)  Not until I either:

A) started the ReShapingItAll Challenge and heard about it there, or

B) started following Candace Cameron Bure’ on Twitter -after seeing a connection with someone else I follow (Christian woman links, etc)-, and maybe saw a tweet about the salad. (?)

I honestly don’t know how or when I heard, but at some point, I decided I needed to look ahead in my ReShaping It All book and find this recipe!

Here it is, from page 117-118 of ReShaping It All:

(and I quote)

“This salad is so easy to make, and it’s incredibly healthy and delicious:  There’s no right way to do it.  Just get chopping.  If you’re making it for yourself, chop about 1/2 cup of each thing.  If you’re making it for a group, go up to 2 or 3 cups of each ingredient!

INGREDIENTS:

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Spinach leaves

Yellow bell pepper

Tomato

Corn (raw from the cob)

Avocado

Egg whites only (hard-boiled)

Ham (deli sliced)

Turkey (deli sliced)

Salami (deli sliced)

DIRECTIONS

Chop everything into bite-sized pieces and mix!  Add pepper to taste.  I drizzle a teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil after it is plated.  I suggest doing so in case you have leftovers.  This way it won’t get soggy in the fridge.”

CCB adds that with the avocado, not much need for more dressing…she only adds pepper to taste, as the meats have enough salt in them.  Her final suggestions are that vegetarians can skip the meats, the egg whites are pure protein, and that “aside from the meats and eggs, everything should be chopped raw.  No cooking required!  How easy is that?”

It WAS pretty easy.  And lovely.

I was sooo glad I had already hard-boiled eggs that morning…we are blessed to have friend of my mom’s who raises chickens and sends us eggs often.  We had MANY at that time, so I decided to hard-boil a bunch.  Perfect timing!  My hubby brought home the deli turkey and deli ham only, for now.  Neither of us are real fans of Cauliflower, so instead of that , I just added more spinach!!!  And let me just say, the end result was as tasty as it was BEAUTIFUL!

Candace's Famous Chopped Salad...with slight changes. =-)

My husband has really enjoyed taking some to work with him a few days this week, as well.  I JUST TONIGHT (Friday) had the last serving, and it was a big one!  This salad went the distance in taste and staying power!

That was Saturday night.

Sunday after church, Jon and I met my mom at Silver Dollar City for Mother’s Day; she had not been to World’s Fest yet, and since it is one of our favorite festivals, we loved the idea of going a second time this year.

Eating healthily at SDC can be a challenge.  It can be done, but not easily.  I already knew that I would allow myself some kind of treat, but for lunch I was hoping for something I had seen the time before…maybe it was an Indian flatbread taco salad of some kind?  Sounded great to me.

Sadly, no.  It was what looked like it might be a great  Greek salad, but being the last day of this festival, it was kind of a mish-mosh of what was left, not really high quality ingredients, and not very fresh as far as the “edible” bowl.  Bummer. 

Here’s the deal…I chose not to let that ruin my day.  I mean, it’s only food, and there would be some more soon enough!  God is my comfort, strength, and the source of happiness!

I’d like to say that I did not over-indulge in any way for the rest of the day, but that would be a lie.  In fact, I did have a little bit more treat than I had originally envisioned…so, just as I get totally excited over fresh and clean produce, I also enjoy sweets! 

I DID make some choices that strengthened my Resistance Muscle that day, but I also made some that weakened it. (a phrase I have learned from Reshaping It all…)

Remember, everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial…and I don’t wanna’ be mastered by anything! (1 Corinthians 6:12)

I CAN enjoy treats in moderation, and thank the Lord for them!  (1 Tim 4:4-5)…but the key here is moderation!  The discipline of self-control, awareness in my eating, and choosing the more beneficial things most of the time will strengthen me not only physically, but spiritually,  too! (Hebrews 12:11, Galatians 5:16)

So my next challenge?  Not condemning myself or feeling like I had totally screwed up to a point of not progressing…Knowing that can be difficult for me, I prayed for help, knew God was FOR me in this area, and let it go (well, the best that I could).

Guess what I woke up to the next morning in my “Jesus Calling” devotional?

“May 9

‘Don’t be so hard on yourself.  I can bring good even out of your mistakes.  Your finite mind tends to look backward, longing to undo decisions you have come to regret.  This is a waste of time and energy, leading only to frustration.  Instead of floundering in the past, release your mistakes to Me.  Look to Me in trust, anticipating that My infinite creativity can weave both good choices and bad into a lovely design.

Because you are human, you will continue to make mistakes.  Thinking that you should live an error-free life is symptomatic of pride.  Your failures can be a source of blessing, humbling you and giving you empathy for other people in their weaknesses.  Best of all, failure highlights your dependence on Me.  I am able to bring beauty out of the morass of your mistakes.  Trust Me, and watch to see what I will do.’  Romans 8:28, Micah 7:7″

Ummm, can we say Perfect.?.  Ok, Lord.  Once again, You totally have my back….and I am so grateful and humbled.  I praise You for being Love incarnate!!!  For making this little girl feel better!  And for renewing my hope through your renewed mercies each morning!

And it didn’t stop there, oh no!  Not for a minute…

I went into our little room of workout/craft/man-cave stuff to get a good sweat going, and decided to listen to one of my DVR’d episodes of Joseph Prince.  How many of you readers are familiar with the fact that when you seek God, He WILL be found?!?  Clearly, He had a few more things to tell me…The scripture for the JP program that day was Genesis 45:3-15, talking about when Joseph (of the amazing technicolor dreamcoat) had become leader of Egypt, and his brothers, who had previously sold him into slavery, had just found out who this leader of Egypt was…

Scripture says they “were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence”.

Joseph’s first reply?  “Come close to me” (v.4)!

He says, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into slavery…but he goes on to basically say that it was not THEIR doing that sent him there, but God’s.  He had been sent to save lives, yes, theirs and others.  Currently there was a famine, and there would be no plowing or reaping for years to come, but eventually, there WOULD be a harvest, and Joseph wanted to save his brothers so they could share in it!  He said they would live in the region NEAR HIM, and He would provide for them.  And then He told them to tell HIS FATHER about everything, and bring him close…

Guess what?  This beautiful story is not just about Joseph and His brothers.  It is about Jesus, and us, and our Father.

My Heavenly Father wanted to reassure me AGAIN that day of His love for me, and how more than anything He wants me near.  I may feel yucky and condemned and reluctant to speak to Him, but He says, “Come close to me.”  He sent His Son to save my life, even though I had “sold him” into slavery (and myself) either by over-indulging  when I knew I shouldn’t, or by condemning myself and forgetting that I am freed from that by His sacrifice!

He wanted to remind me that even though there may be a seeming famine (of what?  treats? puh-lease…healthy food is yummy!…no, I would say the famine was of joy in some moments, or perhaps the feeling of disciplined behavior can seem like famine), and there may not be plowing and reaping just yet (can’t wake up with insta-tone in my muscles or drop 10 pounds overnight, ya’ know), there WILL be a harvest later, and Jesus wants to save me so I can share in the victory with Him!

Finally, He says I get to actually live my life NEAR Him, if I just choose to do so, and He tells me to tell the Father all about it, and draw Him close (to me)!

Come near to God, and He will come near to you.(James 4:8 NIV)

Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time.  (The Msg)

yes. Yes. YES!!!!!

Has it been a “perfect” week since then?  Come on, I’m human.  I HAVE been working out my resistance muscle as well as the rest of my muscles...have had some major blessings in the teaching of my Christ-centered yoga classes,

2 Corinthians 4:7-10

getting to actually TAKE a yoga class from one of my favorite teachers (and getting really sweaty and happy and cleansed of toxins in the process), eating and making healthy food, dancing and singing on stage to some of the best music ever written with some of my best pals,

spending time with my husband as he shows me around our budding garden and trees,

playing with, petting, and adoring our sweet, furry babies,

and thinking of all of the wonderful things I want to share here!  Ideas abound!  So much to say, post, share, etc!

There have also been trials.  Normal. I have tried to focus on the good in all of them (really I have!). (Philippians 4:8)

The biggest blessing, though…the love of My Lord.  Who is full of care for me, watches over me, sings over me, guides me, strengthens me, laughs with me, exercises with me…and reassures me.

My foundation in all of this is Him. 

Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

I can continue to press on in my journey (and so can you!) in faith, with perseverance, building character and hope (which never fails!)…and I can trust that He will make something beautiful out of it!

Produce may make me happy, but my LORD MAKES ME HAPPIEST!

I pray you find your “happy” in Him today.

Lovingly,

little Robyn

Ps—on an earthly side, it’s not “just spiritually” that I have lightness….my costumes have been feeling looser!  I will Praise God for that harvest, too!!!

I know, right?!?!?

My goodness…how is it that when one finally goes to bed on time, they wake up at 3am and cannot shut off the brain?!?  As I tossed and turned, and after getting up to heed the call of nature, I contemplated my choices: workout now, devotional now, finish credit card statement balance now, blog now, or lay here now?

Well, my mind eventually began thinking up phrases and sentences for the blog, so I thought, “alright!  here we go!”…been a long time comin’ and was on  my to-do list for the day anyway.

Which is how I find myself still here at 6:14 am just barely starting…but having immersed myself in the world of WordPress.  Sort of.

I have changed my blog’s appearance, I have attempted to link it up with Facebook and Twitter (thought I already had?), and spent an unheard of amount of time trying to figure out Gravatars…first of all, that word makes me think my pictures will all come out blue!  And why can’t I just have my picture show up in the sidebar already?  Why is there this funny symbol that one’s cursor must hover over to “sort of” see some pictures? Answers and help greatly appreciated.  I do believe God has better things for me to do at this moment than spend another unheard of amount of time deciphering Help topics…=-)  like, maybe catching up this blog!

And, breathe.

So, I have been promising various folks that I will be blogging about this or that for a few weeks now…so much to share about the wonders God is doing and has done in my life!

Psalm 105:5 (New International Version, ©2011)

⁵ Remember the wonders he has done,
   his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced

The crazy thing is, there is so much to tell, I may have to break it up into parts, or have a verrrrry long blog post.  I’ll let you know what I decide at the end…which by that time, you will already know.

And, I am thinking of going most recent to a month ago…which, since blogs appear with the most recently posted on top, means you may actually read them in order of occurrence!  Ha!  It is way too early for that Quantum Leap thinking…

And my alarm just went off, so it’s time to wake up. 😉

So, let’s start with NOW.

Right now I am trusting that even though this day has started incredibly backwards, God can anoint, protect, and turn it around!

Already I have been blessed by seeing my husband off to work and enjoying a healthy breakfast…the first important because I LOVE HIM SO, and the second, because I want to take care of this temple and glorify the Lord through it!

I am currently taking part in a “65 days to Reshaping It All” challenge.  To learn more, go here (not a hyplerlink, but there is one in the sidebar. Otherwise, please cut and paste…anyone want to tell me how to insert a hyperlink?):

http://reshapingitallwithcandace.blogspot.com/search/label/65%20Days%20to%20Reshaping%20It%20All

It is an online blog/community for those wishing to Reshape their lives spiritually and physically!  It is based on the book “Reshaping It All” by Candace Cameron Bure’ with Darlene Schacht.  I have written a review of the book on Amazon.com (again, not a hyperlink):

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3PNG5E9MWL37N/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1433669730&nodeID=&tag=&linkCode=

My reviewer name is Happy Girl.  Suffice it to say, it is a positive review. Please go check it out!

(I may post by itself afterwards, but I already have so many words with which to to inundate you!)

But Robyn, you teach Christ-centered yoga!  You sing and dance in a high energy show! You love healthy foods!  You talk about all of this good-for-us stuff!  Why would you need to do this challenge?

(a.k.a, I know, right?!?!)

Because God often uses my mess to give a message.

Through the next series of blogs, I hope to fill in whatever readers I may have (and I so appreciate you taking the time!) on how I have had just about every reason possible, be it nurture or nature, to have an eating disorder, to have obsessive-compulsive tendencies,  to lack peace in my spiritual and physical life…but I know the Truth, and the Truth has, is, and will, set me free!

John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Have you ever had one of those times in your life when it seems all signs are pointing to the same direction?  When you have really sought God, and His answer is a “barrage” of resources that seem to just flow together?  (And believe me, in this world we are certainly exposed to sooo many resources all the time…the trick is leaning on Him for discernment as to which ones we focus our attention!)

Well, that has DEFINITELY been happening to me!

God has been using all kinds of things…He often speaks to me through music.  One of my favorite things when I go walking or jogging, is to set my I-pod to shuffle, and ask God to be my DJ…you would be ASTOUNDED by the incredibly accurate playlists He comes up with; both secular and Christian songs!  In fact, I am will be listing some of those soon!

God often speaks to me by “playing” a song over and over in my head until I stop to analyze why it keeps going…and it is usually a pretty obvious message…and even funny! (Sidebar: did you the know the week after Easter is Holy Hilarity week in Orthodox churches?  I just found this out!  God is the author of humor, and we can choose to laugh in honor of His pulling the ultimate trick on the Devil with the Risen Christ!  Awesome!  That is something to chortle about…=-))

And, lately, a lot of books.

How about “Made to Crave” by Lysa TerKeurst, “The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast” by Kristen Feola, “Raw Emotions” by Angela Stokes, and “I can make you thin”  by Paul McKenna (I know, what? There is good stuff there, I promise…don’t shy away!) ?  My plan is to discuss these in some form or fashion very soon…but for now, let’s just say they are most definitely linked with what I have been asking of God, and what He has been answering!

I did just finish a Daniel Fast, in fact, and have a blog of that to write…so stay tuned!  So much wonderful stuff to share and all of it leading to where I am right now!…and possibly what God may be trying to tell YOU…! (holla back, Kristen, I adore you and the book!  Can’t wait to share!)

So, yes, a history of body image issues (nurture and nature), family history of depression on one side and addiction on the other (thank the Lord for generational curses being broken in His Power), health issues (candida conditions, hormonal issues, injuries from my life as a high energy performer) have certainly distracted me and gotten me down from time to time…but God has always been there and will always be there…and the mountain of Emotional Eating is no longer mine.  What I have known to be true in my head for a long time in this issue is finally going to be true in my heart, in His timing and Strength!

So, let’s get down to the practical side of things…and doing the Reshaping It All challenge…I don’t know exactly what that will mean for me, yet, except that I do have a goal of blogging at least once a week about it.  I have a goal of consistency with my exercise, eating healthily AND having a treat once or twice a week, and most importantly, putting the first things first, meaning God and all that He is telling me to do!

What has He been telling me to do?  To get enough sleep.  To not only choose right foods, but TURN OFF THE TV when I am eating. To take 2 rest days a week from exercise (other than my show), and to choose exercises that I like (who doesn’t know that already?  and yet I have to be reminded), not what the world says is effective, because I will actually DO it.  (Romans 12:1-2, anybody?) To not only do the Love Dare on my husband, but Also On Myself (where appropriate)!

Because it all starts and ends with Love.  He is love.  He loves me.  Who am I not to love myself?  As is often said, can’t give away what I don’t have.

The ministering service He has given me, Vessels of Clay Yoga, LLC (Christ-centered yoga), depends on my ability to love…and funnily enough, I am able to love my students, but not myself.  I seek Him on their behalf and He fills me so full of Grace…but I have not received for me…so how could I be surprised if I do not seemingly walk in victory over my own issues?

1 Corinthians 13:1
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

I do not wish my thoughts and words towards myself to be a bunch of noise!  Where is the peace in that?  And my whole life and mission is all about love and peace!  My students see that, my friends see that, and I know it…I am ready to live it more often than I have…

Because you see, I DO live it…but I hear God calling me up higher…He doesn’t just want you or me to only have glimpses of the Joyful Life He came for us to have (John 10:10), He wants us to be free always!

There are gonna’ be down days…and luckily, we don’t have to live by how we feel.  I can also guarantee you that after a victory, the enemy is going to try to steal your joy.  Stick close to God, my friend.  This is where we have an opportunity to build up that Resistance Muscle…a phrase I am taking from Reshaping It all…

Oh yeah, the challenge!

Let’s quit babbling, shall we?  Yesterday was indeed a victorious day…the day before was one of moderation…Here is a cut-and-paste of yesterday’s tweets (had fun posting my healthy choices):

littleRobynRobyn Hurst

#reshapingitall have had marvy day of good food & movement; lists to follow! I praise You, oh Lord 4 your marvelous works in me & of me!

yoga this a.m., followed by performing in my show (#1 hits of the 60’s in Branson), & now to teach Christ-centered yoga!

Food: bfast: millet rice oatbran w/alm milk, chia seeds, hemp seeds. Snack:ezeke tortilla w/collards, chry tomatoes…#reshapingitall

Lnch:green smoothie w/green juice (made b4),rice prot pwdr,froz peaches, soaked dates, cinn, &lil greek yog!Yum sneaky veg. #reshapingitall

Pre~yoga teach din: homemade bean burg w/annie’s ketchup, salad of collard, almonds, onion, cranberries, flax oil n lemon vinegar. #

FINALLY, lil treat in form of java monster vanilla light. (needed to use micro in gas station & forgot fork, so…) love #reshapingitall!

Unloading yoga class stuff in rain=yucky, wet teacher, BUT also = @VeslsOfClayYoga is ready to kick it praise, worship, sweat n bliss style!

had a GRRREAAAAT time with my students tonight! Yummy yoga, powerful praise. Love you, Lord! Thank you for my portion!

Now, will I always post all those things?  Nope.  For me, that could become obsessive behavior.

What I want you to know is that the day BEFORE this one was a generally healthy eating day, but a rest day from exercise (except for my show); however,  after the show my hubby and I went out for an impromptu dinner of Sushi and Plum wine (one glass)…followed by Andy’s frozen custard.

Moderation in Action.

I chose NOT to condemn myself.  I actually had a peace about it.  And you can see how in following the Lord the next day, it went swimmingly!  Are there challenges?  Yes.  Before that dinner, we were supposed to have an appointment that the other party forgot.  Right now, I have been awake for 5.5 hours, and I have to leave for work in 4 hours.  Would like to work on Credit Card balancing, do some moving/exercising and take a nap, for heaven’s sake.  It’s going to take some strength just to make myself lie down…

Phillipians 4:13 tells me I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.  I am choosing to really believe and accept that this time.

I praise You, Lord, and I receive Your Word.  I mean it, I hear You!!!  And I am so humbled and blessed that you bother.  Thank You, Big Daddy.

With love,

your little Robyn