How Profound!

"It is not the absence of sin but the grieving over it which distinguishes the child of God from empty professors of faith." Arthur Pink

I recently read this quote and could not help but share it!! How many people do you know who claim the name of Christ as being "Christians" yet live a life full of sin? You might say, "well nobody's perfect" which is true, but the Bible clearly says that if we're in Christ we're a NEW CREATURE!!

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Does your sin grieve you? When you have that negative attitude, jealous thought, lustful eye, gossiping tongue, prideful look - do you repent and ask the Lord for His forgiveness? Does it grieve you when you sin against your Lord?

I pray that you'll take the above quote to heart and meditate on it this week. The world claims Christ, yet so many live a life of sin and have empty professions. This is what the Bible says in reference to the above quote:

1 John 1:6 "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth:"

1 John 2:4 "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."

Praying you all have a blessed Monday!
~Lauren

Green Goodness!!

How many of you have resolved to become more healthy this year?? How many of you have determined to lose weight, especially those stubborn last 10lbs? Well, what if I told you that I have the perfect breakfast smoothie for you?!?

Many of you might read this and think to yourself "there is no way that this can taste good", but please don't knock it until you've tried it! My hubby and I have become quite fond of this green concoction and actually find ourselves craving it each morning! We feel pretty good about ourselves too because it's as if we're having a salad for breakfast! ;-)


What you'll need - a blender!

-Orange juice
-Handful of salad greens ( I buy the huge tub of organic greens from Sam's for $2.98!)
-1-2 Bananas (I like to freeze mine for added thickness)
-Frozen fruit of your choice
-Honey to taste

I eyeball everything, so keep that in mind as you might like to tweak it according to your taste.

I pour approx 1 cup of orange juice into my blender, then pile the organic greens into it (1-2 generous handfuls) next (the more, the healthier obviously, but if you wanna start out slow, I understand). Make sure they have combined well, then add your bananas one at a time and allow them to combine. Once smooth, Add 1/2-1cup of frozen fruit. After all has incorporated, I add honey to taste. I simply squeeze it into the mixture for about 5 seconds while it's blending. :-)

Once done, you will have a delightfully GREEN smoothie that is not only delicious, but quite nutritious! The recipe above makes enough for both my husband and I.

Go ahead, be brave - try it! I guarantee it'll be MUCH better than you think, and you probably will find yourself truly enjoying it.

Here's to a healthy 2012!

~Lauren