I still love it, and I think it really simplifies things for me. I was reading over Matthew 5 this morning, the Beatitudes. Jesus highlights the heart behind the Law. He didn't come to abolish it but to fulfill it. (Major paraphrasing there.) I was kind of asking myself, how do I know if I'm trying to seek my own righteousness, or Christ's? And I was reminded of my favorite verse, "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:6-9)
It comes down to love. When I love God I obey Him. Just as when I truly love anyone, I sacrifice for them, I seek to please them. And this is all based on His love for me first. And all this is mine through faith by His grace! So simple! You know, until sin gets in the way. But Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled." May we seek Jesus' righteousness all the time!
Shirley girly is going to be 17 months tomorrow, so I thought a little update is in order. How she fills our lives with joy! She is so full of personality. Kwacha and I both grew up shy and quiet, but it's like God took our two personalities and canceled them out to create Shirley's! She still says hi to everyone she sees and she loves to give kisses and hugs. Especially "fish lip kissies" and "eskimo kissies!" She has a newfound love for the park. She just started going down the slide by herself and her favorite person to go with is Bren. He calls her "Shirwee". It's just super cute.
Of course, with all this personality comes a fair share of discipline! She is very independent and strong-willed. She definitely has whining down, especially when it's dinner time because she just wants more and more to eat!
She is learning a lot of new words and it's fun to see her say things that I didn't focus on teaching her. I taught her how to point to her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc. But one day I asked her to show me her feet, which I had never asked her before, and she pointed to them; the same thing with her toe. It's just amazing to see the things they pick up.
I just hope that one day, this spirited girl would pour her energy into the Lord and serving Him with her life.
Last thing I have today is a recipe for the most scrumptious, easy dessert!
I found the recipe on Pinterest from this site.
They are called "Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars" and they are dangerously fast and easy to make.
I tweaked the recipe just a bit:
Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 light brown sugar (or coconut sugar - I also added 1 packet of truvia since the recipe calls for a 3/4 cup)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1 large egg (at room temp.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp carob powder (or 1/2 semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats (I used instant and it turned out fine)
Mix the first four ingredients until well-combined on medium, then add in the egg and vanilla and mix on medium-low. Add in carob powder and stir in oats by hand. Press into a greased 8x8 pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 22 minutes. Enjoy! They are basically my new version of brownies!
