This looks so tasty. I found it in an email a friend had forwarded to me. I could not find it on the wesite link in the email so I just copied and pasted it here. Enjoy and tell me what you think.

Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa Salad
with Cumin-Lime Dressing

Ingredients
1 cup dry
quinoa, rinsed
1 tbsp olive oil
or coconut oil
1 3/4 cup water
1 can black
beans, drained and rinsed
1 avocado,
chopped into chunks
handful cherry
tomatoes, quartered
1/2 red onion,
diced
1 small clove
garlic, minced
1 red bell
pepper, chopped into chunks
small handful
cilantro, diced
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tbsp olive
oil
salt, to taste
Directions
1. Warm the olive/coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium
heat. Once it's hot add the rinsed quinoa and toast for about 2-3 minutes. Add
water, stir once, cover, and simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the dressing by
combining the lime juice, oil, cumin, and salt. Whisk it aggressively. Adjust
seasoning as necessary.
3. When the quinoa has finished cooking, remove it from heat and
fluff with a fork. Add black beans and toss to warm them through.
4. Let the quinoa cool for about five minutes and then add all
the remaining ingredients, including the dressing, and mix. Adjust seasoning to
your preference.
Enjoy!

Morning Prayer #4

Putting on the Helmet of Salvation:

I was getting discouraged my mind kept wandering into these unhealthy areas of thought. Things that when acted upon would be destructive.

Acting upon them could just be dwelling on them and keeping them in the forefront of my mind. Which would keep me from being productive in any healthy thoughts. Having my mind stuck here would keep me from fellowship with GOD, productivity at home, interacting with my family. I would hide away in my thoughts.

Acting on them could also be when I choose to actually do something that I had been thinking about. Eating that donut, saying hateful things to “that” person, drinking that one drink.

I would be afraid of my thoughts. I thought it was my fault that my mind kept coming to them. I would be very ashamed of what would just pop in my head. The guilt was overwhelming. And many times because of the pressure I would just continue to dwell on the thoughts because I didn’t know what else to do.

GOD wants us to understand that it is not the thought that is the sin it is the action from those thoughts that is the sin. Dwelling on them, acting on them is the sin. In my prayer this morning HE highlighted this thought…

I put on the helmet of salvation, refusing to receive thoughts that are contrary to YOUR character. I bring every thought into captivity and obedience to the Lordship of JESUS CHRIST. I want my mind to be stayed upon YOU.

“…refusing to RECEIVE thoughts that are contrary to YOUR character.” HE said that when a thought that is contrary to who HE is comes into my head I am to be able to identify it and throw it out. When a thought comes in that says anything about my character that is contrary (Your worthless, lazy, ditzy, ugly, fat) to what HE has said to me then I am to be able to throw it out.

When a thought about doing something that I know would just be destructive to my relationship with HIM or others comes to mind, I am to be able to throw it out. Just by coming to mind is not the sin it is receiving the thought.

Receiving a thought is making it your own. Remember that satan whispers lies in your ear to try to distract, discourage, steal and destroy. Do not claim those thoughts as your own. Put your thought on the GOD scale and measure it up. Does it encourage or bring joy? Then don’t say that it is your own.

We are in a spiritual battle. You are not alone in your thoughts. Satan is trying to deceive and discourage you. He is feeding you anything he can to get you away from your fellowship with GOD. When those things try to rise up in you, speak the name of CHRIST and read your Bible out loud. You are fighting with GOD’S Word and those trying to discourage you have to flee.

Don’t be discouraged when your mind keeps coming back to ideas or thoughts that you have tried to conquer. Just look to your SAVIOR and HE will rise you up.

Get To Work

Many times we think that our prayers are unnecessary. GOD already knows the situation, and if HE wants to do something about it HE will, right? If HE doesn’t do anything than that must have been HIS will.

So I don’t have to get all worked up about any situation that involves me or anyone else. It is easier this way, I become an observer only, I don’t have to get into the game. I see that the “Star” player is gonna make it happen.

How wrong is that? COMPLETLEY! What a dull walk we would have. How selfish a life we would live. It isn’t about us. We are key players in this. We have jobs to do. It…Isn’t…About…Us!

We are to be down on our knees pleading for the plight of man. Whatever that is. A friend, a family member, a stranger, my own issues, they are all what keeps us separated from the life HE wants for us. Not just a good life here on earth. A life eternally with HIM. We are to greave for each other in prayer. It is to bring us to tears and (yes) even pain to see and hurt with this plight.

Our prayers matter. They are the example of faith that moves the FATHER. Remember the men who lowered their friend down through the roof? JESUS looked up and saw the faith of those friends, and he was moved. Our faith moves our GOD. I am not saying that there is a lever called faith that you use to turn on the GOD machine. I mean our faith is moving to THE ONE who loves us.

I promise to keep reading it all the way through, but my spirit is screaming inside of me. Right now I am concerned with the throngs of people who are and will be mislead by this "simple" message. (Simple minded). And I just read the intro and the first page of chapter 1. (Rob Bell's Love Wins).

I know that this may spark some really heated discussions so please be kind. Please no angry trying to explain the message to me. I am a big girl and GOD gave me some spiritual gifts when the HOLY SPIRIT baptized me.

I said I promise to read the whole thing through and I am praying all the way. Of course your spirit would scream when you are reading something someone is putting out there as truth and you have always known different. Your "always known" my be because others have taught you that way, your environment of people around you who believe the same way, and in your own reading and studying.

Let me just say that I am hoping this will be a journey in helping me to learn to be less judgemental, more compassionate, sympathetic, and a peacemaker. I of course start out in this upset and calling it simple minded which is mean. Like I said this will be an exercise and I hope to finish a little less judgemental. Hang with me please.

Morning Prayer #3

I had always thought it was a bit silly during the part were you yield your body. The prayer lists out different parts of your body. I understood hands-what I busy myself with today; feet-where I go; eyes-what I allow into my mind; ears- what I listen to; mouth-what I speak. But Nose, really? My nose. What could that relate to. What I smell? Sheesh.

Well GOD has a purpose for everything. All of my life the size and shape of my nose has been troublesome. I was teased endlessly as a child by adults and kids about my nose. I was even given the nickname of Beaker in High School.

In trying to fit in I always think of my nose first. Will this group of people that I am meeting with take me seriously or will they just be distracted by the ogre living on my face.

So guess what? I am to yield, EVERY DAY, my body to GOD. Including...wait for it...MY NOSE. May I say again, SHEESH! How I never saw that before, I don't know.

My nose represents my vanity, my insecurity, and in many cases my worth. It should never have grown (lol) to that level, but it has.

LORD, thank YOU for revelation. Revelation that heals. I today surrender to you my sense of worth based on physical fleshly attributes. YOU made me and YOU have a purpose for the way I look. Thank YOU.

Morning Prayer #2

My time lately has been spent in the unwritten part of The Morning Prayer. Praying for my family, repenting of sin, and lifting up dear friends and family who are in need. I haven't had much to report concerning the actual written prayer that I go through each day.

Today however when I got to the Enemy Number 1: The Flesh I stumbled and skimmed through it until GOD slapped the back of my head like Gibbs does to Tony and pulled me back to Nurse My Hurts.

HE wanted to have me dwell on this for more of a praise than a preventative today. I started by praising HIM for a debilitating pain that started Saturday morning, but praise HIM it was fixed up right away and I was able to continue in the work HE had for me that day.

If I had just sat there moaning about that pain instead of letting HIM lead me on how to take care of it so that I could keep on keeping on. I would have had such a destructive effect on the work we were doing that day.

It turns out that this is a lesson on preventative prayer. I learned from my, almost, failure on Saturday, and today that part of the prayer means so much more. I am grateful to HIM for HIS faithfulness in continuing to give me the physical abilities to do the tasks HE sets before me. If I were to wallow in my supposed misery then I would be spitting HIM in the face. Saying HE is not able to take care of me.

I will then take that today. Remembering that hurts both physical and emotional have no bearing on whether or not I am able to accomplish what HE wants done. HE will never give me anything that I cannot handle without HIM. HE strengthens me when I am weak or tired. HE gives me rest and peace when I could be stressed and overwhelmed. HE really is all I need. Thank YOU LORD for being the I AM. The one and only.

The Morning Prayer Day 1

Today as I went through the prayer GOD had me really settle on Yielding my Rights to Success in Ministry (#13). HE was asking me what I thought success was in ministry. I began to label that the ministry would be noticed, talked about, well thought of by others, and that the leaders would be well liked and looked up to.

Wow! Where is my mind lately. Even reading my response just shows how shallow and self focused I am (again!). A successful ministry is not any of those things. It was like GOD had to hit the reset button on my CPU.

RESTART!

What is ministry? The one and only response is that it is For GOD and HIM alone! It is a tool HE uses to continue HIS plan on earth. We are to be open to whatever HE needs the ministry to be. There is never an expectation of what it will look like in the future. You may have a dream of what you want it to do, but it is HIS design and plan for you that you have to be open to.

Do not get discouraged if it is going a different way than you wanted it to. For every moment you are doing a service for HIM you are learning and growing, someone else is being touched by HIS love, and HE is putting into motion plans that you can't see right now.

Step away from your expectations and jump in on the exciting ride HE has planned for that ministry.

The Morning Prayer

Every day I enjoy going through this prayer. I have mentioned it before and I have linked to it on my side bar. It was put together by Tom Harmon. He is a speaker that I heard at summer camp (Camp Barakel http://www.campbarakel.org/c2.asp) when I was in school. He still speaks at the same camp and I am excited to be able to send my own kids there.

The morning prayer is fully based on scripture and there are notations along with each statement in the prayer. The opening line is a great foundation for the whole prayer.


Gracious Heavenly Father, I love you and want to live my life for you this day. Please allow me to pray in the Spirit because you know what I will face today and where to emphasize my prayers. (Ephesians 6:18)

It is so right about emphasizing my prayers. I am always amazed at what GOD has me really dwell on when I am praying that day. Then even more so when I see how the day plays out.

It seems that GOD always has me deep in thought as I pray to die to self. That one never lets up. You have to see where you failed the day before and ask for forgiveness for that. Then learn from it.

You pour into this part where you "Put off the old man and take up the new." What a refreshing way to start your day. A quote I love from Lucy M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series, states, "Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it."

I want to start sharing with you all how GOD is using this prayer for me (hopefully every day).