"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?" Mark 8:36

Lord,

Satisfy me today. 

My heart longs for things that are not of You. I often seek fulfillment in your creation, but I know that I am designed to find true satisfaction in You, my Creator. Nothing in this world will satisfy me like You will. 

No matter the circumstances of today, help me be content in what you have given me. Help me not long for the future or regret the past, but be satisfied in the present and content in the circumstances you have placed me in. 

You have a purpose for everything, even when I don't understand. Remind me of that today. Satisfy my heart with You. You are my rock and my salvation. You will never leave me nor forsake me. 

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Philippians 4: 11-13

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Healthy Misconceptions

"There's a skinny girl inside of me trying to get out, but I can usually shut her up with cookies."

Is it just me or is there a misconception that "going healthy" means giving up everything good about food? I am not going to lie, I used to feel that way. I loved my cake, cookies, fried food, junk food--you name it. I used to believe that "healthy" meant boring, bland, and tasteless. But I am learning that I could never have be more wrong!

Sometimes even the whole idea of "going healthy" is often misconstrued or vague in definition. "Going healthy" for me is swapping empty-calorie rich foods  for nutritionally-rich foods. That means sticking more to the natural food products rather than prepackaged products, and by extension preparing more of your food rather than just sticking your frozen dinner in the microwave and nuking it. Food companies often add preservative chemicals in order for it to have a long shelf life. If you prepare your own meals from scratch, it is easier to cut down on excess calories as well as chemicals (such as sodium!).

I know, I know, it's often such a hassle to make your own food. There are days where you don't have time to spend more than 5 minutes in the kitchen, and other days you are just not in the mood to create a culinary masterpiece. I often fall into the trap of, "why should I bother to cook something fancy when I only cook for myself?" What I often forget to remind myself during that thought process is that creating one meal for 2-4 individuals creates LOTS of leftovers--which then takes away the later used "I don't have time to cook" excuse! See, that's how it is done folks, it's called tricking yourself into a healthy lifestyle.

To help you out, here are two quick and delicious recipes I have found recently that I absolutely LOVED and want to share. I am unfortunately not a culinary mastermind so I have to give a shout-out to the original recipe sites. I found the first recipe, Banana Oat Cookies, on Lauren Brimley's blog (laurenbrimley.blogspot.com--check her out for more yummy, healthy recipes). The second recipe is a word of mouth recipe and it is super wonderful, especially for those in a rush to eat!

Banana Oat Cookies

Ingredients:

2 very ripe bananas

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 c almond butter

2 c rolled oats

dark chocolate chips

Directions: Mash the bananas, then add all of the remaining ingredients. You may need more or less oats depending on your banana size, so look for a wet cookie dough texture. Stir in as many chocolate chips as you would like. Spoon scoops onto a baking sheet, and then form to make a cookie shape. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Banana & Egg Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 mashed, super ripe banana

3 eggs

Dash of cinnamon

Optional--

     Berries, Honey, Cottage Cheese

Directions: Mash the bananas, then add eggs and cinnamon. Thoroughly mash ingredients, but don't worry the batter will still be a little chunky. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or pan over medium high heat. Pour about 1/4 cup amount of batter on the griddle and cook until brown on both sides.

     Note: I have loved adding sliced strawberries and cottage cheese between my two pancakes and then pouring a light drizzle of honey on top to finish off the masterpiece. (SO GOOD--try it. You won't regret it.)

Feel free to share more healthy recipes with me, or let me know how these recipes turn out for you!
Until next time.

Rafiki was Right.

Pre-Blog Note: I don’t share any of the following for my own gain or for pity’s sake. I believe that the Lord works through both good and bad situations for the glory of Him and for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28). This is part of my testimony and I have felt called to share a snapshot of my life to those who will read.

Today is my birthday. But March 24^th also marks the anniversary of another important event in my life. On March 24, 1999 my uncle committed suicide. Today marks the 15^th anniversary.

I grew up in the church and accepted Christ into my heart when I was six years old.  But after my seventh birthday I wanted nothing to do with God. I could not wrap my little mind around the idea that a loving, compassionate God would let such a thing happen to me. I did not understand why an all-powerful God could not have stopped what had happened. And for that reason I ran from God. But at the same time I tried to run away from myself. I thought that I was the reason why it happened. I grew up with so much self-doubt and insecurity because of that belief. I tried to find security and meaning in all the wrong things, but I always found everything lacking. Nothing could give me the security or reassurance I wanted. For ten years I tried to find myself in everything except for Christ.

It was not until my freshman year of college that I understood that I blamed God unjustly. Though God knew that my Uncle Doug would take his own life and He had the ability to stop it, God gave my uncle freewill to make that choice. Though I do not think I will ever fully understand why God allowed my family to go through such hardship, I can see now that I would not be the Christian I am today without experiencing that sorrow. I have seen God’s mercy and love pick up the pieces of my broken heart and put them together again. Jesus took my self-doubt and insecurities onto his shoulders and replaced it with confidence and security IN HIM. Through this, He has shown me that He is the only lasting foundation for my life, He is the rock I can lean on in hard times, and He will never leave me nor forsake me.

God has shown me that he really does use ALL circumstances for HIS glory and for the good of those who love Him. I may never entirely understand the “why” of everything I have gone through, but I know there is a reason. Maybe it is to show another side of His character I have never seen before, or maybe it is so that I can pass on the wisdom I have gained to younger Christians struggling with a similar situation.

“Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.” –Rafiki, The Lion King

I don’t know what past or present circumstances you are struggling with, but don’t run. Seek the Lord. He will be the anchor for your soul even when the waves of this life are crashing around you.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest…you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28, 29b

Jumping on the Blog Bandwagon

Well Howdy!

I am quite new at this whole "blog" thing so excuse me if my blog seems a bit quirky or different from other blogs. My main reason for creating a blog: Facebook doesn't offer enough room in one status to type everything I have to say. Only slightly kidding about that.

First off, my name is Helen Cranford. I am currently a Senior Kinesiology Major at Texas A&M University. My current plan (though I feel like the plan changes daily) is to earn my Personal Trainer Certification in May 2014, graduate from A&M in December 2014, and afterwards become a full-time PT until I can afford graduate school. I have to laugh though because the aforementioned plan was definitely NOT the plan I had for my life when I entered college, but God has turned my life upside down in college and completely changed my plans. So He could definitely do it again and change my current plans before I graduate.

I have many passions in life, but my top three passions are as follows:

1) God.
      God is the most important aspect of my life. I grew up going to a Baptist church but didn't start following Christ until about 5 years ago. Since then he has become the foundation of my life, without Him I would not exist. I am far from perfect (ask my family and close friends) but God is continually molding me and refining me to become more like Christ. I am (VERY) slowly learning to be a light to those around me and live out my faith.

2) A Healthy Lifestyle.
     If you know me at all, you know I love to workout. Running, weights, yoga--you name it and I will probably light up with excitement. Even if I am not very good at it, if you ask me to go do some physical activity with you, I will probably respond with "when and where? I will be there!" Eating healthy has been a more recent (and slower) transition in my life. I just love food so much!! But I am learning quickly that eating healthy doesn't also have to mean eating boring food (like vegetables!). There is so much healthy yummy-ness out there, you just have to find it and make it!

3) Smiling and Laughter.
     Laughter is encouraging to the soul. Anyone arguing that point apparently hasn't ever laughed before (which is a very depressing thought...). I have been told before that I rarely don't have a smile on my face, and I believe that is a good thing. Proverbs 15:13 says, "A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit." Enough said.

Therefore, that will be what this blog is about--anything from spiritual lessons that God is teaching me to super good (or funny) workout stories or delicious healthy meals. I am excited to see where this blog goes and how God might use it to impact others or teach me.

Feel free to comment, share websites, or follow me.

Note: I am not sure if I am supposed to finish a blog as one would a letter, but I feel like that is slightly weird. So I will end it with, "Until Next Time."