I'm LOVING it!

#aprilfools



Haha!  Been over 10 years since I ate this crap. I just couldn't resist. The photo, that is.

Super Easy Molten Lava Cakes

This recipe is so delicious, impressive and so easy I've got it to memory.  It comes out great every time.  Never had a flop.  There are few ingredients, so use the best available.  What I love is.. well, CHOCOLATE.  And this recipe shows it off. You can vary the taste with different chocolate choices. Good excuse for buying up a bar or two of the different boutique chocolates out there. 
It is a great recipe for a dinner party.. you can make ahead (up to 3 hours) and bake when ready to serve. 


Here you can see it in action... oozing chocolate heaven. 

Chocolate Note: I like to always use at least 4oz. semi-sweet and vary the other 4oz. Bittersweet, dark, very dark.. the more you make the more you'll want to experiment.

Molten Lava Cakes

Prep:

Butter and flour well 4 custard cups or ramekins, set aside 

(tip: if you mix a little cocoa powder with the flour it won't be white)

In a double boiler melt til smooth:

8 oz good chocolate (semi or bittersweet.. I prefer a blend)
8 oz. butter (If using unsalted, add a pinch of sea salt)

In a bowl whisk til pale and light (1min):

2 eggs + 2 yolks
1/4 c. sugar

Add melted chocolate mixture to egg mixture and add:

2 teaspoons flour
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder

Pour into ramekins or molds. 

(At this point you can bake immediately or hold for up to 3 hours in the fridge.  If baking later, be sure to bring to room temp first.)

Bake 450°  7 to 9 min. You want them puffed up but jiggly in the center.

Sit for 1 min and turn over onto plate. 

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream (a must!)

Tomorrow is Shine A Light On Slavery Day

A day started by supporters of A21 to bring awareness to human trafficking. Let's join in prayer that this movement and awareness moves in the hearts of people and reaches our government and can cause some movement. 

A red X on your hand to bring awareness to this movement.  

#setanalarm #middaybabymidday #endit 

But let justice run down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream [flowing abundantly]. Amos 5:24

Homemade Vapor Rub Balm

Soothe the cough right out of my sole!

Well, I had seen this post floating around the internet a year or so back for a simple cough remedy.. Rubbing Vapor Rub on the soles of your feet.  Like all things internet.. interesting but does it really work.  Fast forward to Scarlett's spring break that turned into fighting this nasty virus going around with high fevers and then after 4 days of that, bringing an insane cough back that we thought was gone.  Immediately I ran to make my Pear Tea which I learned from the Chinese herbalist.  Which I do believe helps.  

It was nighttime and I had put Scarlett to bed.  The cough was waking her up.  Grandma reminded me of that post we both had seen for the rub on the soles.  I ran in and grabbed my homemade vapor rub, which I keep on hand.  Have I ever mentioned my vapor rub obsession?  That smell is one I love.  When I smell it I immediately see the vaporizer we grew up with that usually accompanied the rub.  The whirring of steam, the smell.  It might just be why I love to sleep with a fan on still.  I blame it on sleeping in the city, the noise.. but it might just be this nostalgia.   The thought of going to sleep without a fan on makes me tense.  I might just admit that. 

Anyway, this rub is super simple and easy to make.  You do need a few ingredients and oils but they are easy to come by in a health food store or online.  I love Rose Mountain Herbs for most oils and herbs. They also have nice containers.  Love Brambleberry.  Locally, Nature's Elements in Enumclaw, Marlene's in Fedway for shea, cocoa butters and essential oils.   These are my go to for making soaps, balms and lip bombs.  Balms?..  Yes,  that's what I meant, but quite honestly.. they are the BOMB. 

Obsessed about making my own everything, this is what I do.  I actually derive maj pleasure from it.  But you might not.  That's ok, just find some all natural (non-petroleum) at a health or natural store.  Everything is available, pretty much everywhere now.  

So, why no petroleum jelly or the store brand we grew up with, you ask?  Don't get me started.  Ok.  You did.  It is a bi-product of oil refining process, firstly.  Then there are these harmful hydrocarbons.  Basically this study in 2011 found that: 

There is strong evidence that mineral oil hydrocarbons are the greatest contaminant of the human body, amounting to approximately 1 g per person. Possible routes of contamination include air inhalation, food intake, and dermal absorption.

We can't metabolize them and they get stored in our fat.  Gotta love that. It's making us fat.  Hydrocarbons are very common in make-up and most beauty products.   Once in, it's very difficult to get rid of these contaminants. And what's worse, these contaminants can be passed on to our children, even through breast feeding.  

So, that's hydrocarbons, in a nut shell.  But there's more.  

The barrier it creates when it sits on your skin can cause collagen breakdown.  Collagen is what keeps us youthful looking. God, no to that!   It also blocks pores and does absolutely no good, which a natural alternative would.  Let's see what else.. estrogen dominance.  This is where it hits home for me as I am diligently trying to heal my adrenals and thyroid from years of being off balance most likely from products and foods that have such estrogen dominance like petroleum jelly.  Store brands even contain turpentine, which is very toxic to children, even deadly in doses as little as 3 teaspoons.  The new greaseless formula is even worse.. It not only has parabens (which is the one consistent thing found in breast cancers and yes, found in most beauty products) but also diazolidinyl urea which is a formaldehyde releasing chemical that is.. guess?.. TOXIC UPON INHALATION! Isn't that the point of vapor rub?!! 
There's more. PEG-100 stearate another ingredient that is often contaminated with cancer-inducing dioxane.  

If we really start looking at the products sold by big food and these major companies that have marketed America so well that we trust them like they are family.  They are nostalgic, right?  Not right.  So wrong. 

Start scratching around and a ton more of information will come up to defend why we should really not be using this or many other products.  What's sad is that Petroleum jelly is everywhere.  It may appear as petroltum, mineral oil, liquid paraffin or paraffin oil on labels.  And you will find it everything from lotions, to baby products.  Mostly baby products.   It's ability to create a protective barrier on the skins and hold in moisture might seem like a good idea.. but these are the downsides. 

Ok, rant done.  So, buy it natural or make your own.  You can alter the oils for different results.  

I do think moving forward I will try and make a batch with more coconut oil and pour it into a chapstick-type container, so you could just swipe it on your feet.  More coconut oil (which hardens at 76 degrees) and less shea butter will produce a harder product.  But for this application, I think I might like that.
    

Homemade Vapor Rub BALM  (for feet or chest)

4 teaspoons grated beeswax or pellets

3 Tablespoons shea butter (you could sub cocoa butter here)

7 Tablespoons coconut oil

High quality Essential oils:

20 drops Eucalyptus

10 drops Rosemary

10 drops Lavender

10 drops Lemon

10 drops Tea Tree (see note*)  

In a double boiler, mix beeswax, shea butter and coconut oil until melted.  Take off heat and blend in oils.  Cool and place in jar or container.  

*Note:  I love using tea tree oil in my blend for it's healing and antibacterial properties but it's not to be used on children under 6 months of age. To make without Tea Tree, simply boost the other oils to be equal to the 10 drops you are eliminating.  

Other combinations I love: 

20 drops eucalyptus / 20 drops peppermint / 20 Rosemary  This is an amazing "inhaler" type for colds and congestion.  However, as good as it smells, do not put on skin under the nose.. it may cause irritation.  Simply breathe in or I like to put this on a stone necklace or on my sleeve and throughout the day breathe some in.  Talk about wellness feeling. 

Your LOVE is Fierce

New found song that I am in love with at this moment.  Fierce by Jesus Culture.  Enjoy

Give Love

Here is a link for those who wish to send cards to human trafficking survivors and give a gift. This is through A21 which I introduced last night. 

LET'S CELEBRATE FREEDOM!
YOU can make a difference in the life of a human trafficking survivor. This holiday, as you give to family and friends, why not send a personalized card to one of our shelters across the globe? Your support and encouragement means the world to our survivors as they move from a point of crisis to a state of stability. Thanks to your generosity, we can help our survivors overcome their trafficking experience, transition back into society, and find lasting restoration.

"At the shelter we were offered everything that we needed. And through the time I was there, I learnt much about who I am... and what I want." - Anna [A21 Survivor]

https://www.a21.org/campaigns/donate.php?linkid=3943

Reading : Waiting Here For You

Excited to be starting this Advent journey. My hope is that we see more in this busy holiday season besides the rush or wait for Christmas. It's so much more! There is such a beautiful lesson to be learned in Advent and waiting on the Lord that can strengthen us and give us Hope even as we wait for His return. And lately with what is happening all around us, that's exactly what the enemy of our souls wants to steal.. Our hope. But He is our Hope and I believe that this devotional journey by Louie Giglio will help us cling to that. 

All bundled up

... and ready to give!  Best Christmas present idea ever.  Especially if it centers, slows down and offers some perspective on the season that we've been missing... "Waiting Here For You" an Advent devotional by Louie Giglio that we can journey through together. 
Believing to really see Jesus and be present in this beautiful season of hope and expectancy.  

Nice touch.. a little piece of chocolate and felt ribbon.  

Encouragement

November State of Mind

Having fun practicing hand-lettering and doodling.  The perfectionist in me is slowly dying as I force myself to enjoy this illustrated journaling journey I have started on.  So used to using my tablet and mac that this is very difficult for me to enjoy.. but I am trying! Teaching myself to enjoy the discipline of this.  Are you like me, do you struggle in perfection? 

God is Within Her

Vellum hand lettering inserts that are bringing a lot of colour to my bible! Love this verse. Now if only I had a manicure! 

Because They Feared and Obeyed God Above All

Thousands of years before the women’s liberation movement, or anyone ever heard of Gloria Steinem, the ancient biblical stories in Scripture never stereotyped or portrayed women as weak. Yes, we know that the average woman is weaker physically than men, but they are not weaker spiritually, mentally, or emotionally. Think of Deborah, Jael, Esther, or Ruth. Think of Mary (any one of the Marys will do), Martha, Priscilla, or Philip’s four daughters.

This past year, the highest rated commercial shown during the Super Bowl wasn’t one by Go-Daddy or Budweiser. It was a commercial that asked the question, “What would it look like to do something ‘like a girl’?” Several young people were filmed doing the first thing that came to mind when asked to “run like a girl, throw like a girl, fight like a girl.” It wasn’t too surprising when they jogged daintily in place, or flailed their bent wrists in a lame fight, or awkwardly flung their arm to throw an imaginary ball. All of them deliberately looked silly, weak, distracted.

Look at the heroic women in Scripture—their examples of integrity, bravery, and wit. Read the gripping story in Exodus of Moses’ mother, Jochebed; his sister, Miriam; and the Jewish midwives Shiphrah and Puah (their names forever recorded for us to honor).

Exodus 1:17 tells us that because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They were women who would stand to defy the commands of Pharaoh of Egypt and save a son, who would rescue a nation, which would bring us our Messiah, who would save the world. Because they feared God, they were strong mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.
It is worth noting that Pharaoh’s decree was, “If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live” (Exodus 1:16 NLT). In his eyes, letting every daughter live would never be a threat to his kingdom. He had no concept of female bravery or empathy. Little did he know that to fight like a girl, stand like a girl, think like a girl, would be the beginning of the undoing of the might of his Egypt.

To fight the good fight and run the race set before us—whether we are in the kitchen, in the classroom, in the boardroom, in the courtroom, or in the mission field—means we are not insignificant, nor an afterthought in the mind of God. My dear sisters, mothers, and daughters: Pharaoh may have misjudged women, but let’s not misjudge ourselves.

Let every daughter live, and run, and fight, and love, and live like the girl God made you to be! Don’t think the Bible is about men, for men, while women stand by in cute outfits and cheer. It is about women as well, and the part we have to play in this great unfolding drama.

These words from the great apostle Paul were written to Timothy, a young man who first learned the Scriptures—not at his father’s knee, but on the lap of his mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8).

Remember, Israel’s first deliverer was not a man in flowing robes and a long beard. It was a slave woman, a mother named Jochebed, in average clothing, shedding tears, and showing miraculous courage.

Today, the world, the church, and the family need the influence of women who will fear and obey God above all.

"When did doing something 'like a girl' become an insult?" - By Cathe Laurie