Jesus is the (gluten-free) Bread of Life

Doesn't this picture just fill you with happiness and excitement and coziness? Being at home for a couple weeks is providing me the luxury of slowing down to enjoy simple things like this. Waking up has become a joy - to look outside at the white surroundings and clear sky. Vancouver isn't the same. I love the feeling of being tucked away in my house with tea and a book, surrounded by a small city and more country than I could ever explore. And snow. Lots and lots of snow!

I've loved spending so much time with my Eli. Having a nephew around is like a constant treat. Whenever you feel like it, if he's awake, he is always up for a cuddle or hold and it just makes you so happy!

I'm halfway through "Jesus Amoung other Gods". There are so many great points, sentences, quotes, from the author and other authors that he adds in. I just want to share them all, but since I didn't underline and there are way too many to go back and find and type out, I'll just post a few:

Ravi is talking about our hungers..the hungers for truth, knowldge, to express, to belong, to be loved, hunger for justice, for imagination, for significance..etc. He says "Not only do we remain unfufilled when we pursue these hungers, but in their very pursuit comes a disorientation that misrepresents and misunderstands where the real satisfaction comes from." This is so imporant to know, and so true, I read it about 10 times to really grasp it and feel the weight of it.

Then he talks about when Jesus fed the hungry, when Satan tempted Him by telling Him to change stones into bread. Also how Ravi himself was raised in a country (India) where food is a major shortage in many areas and it is hard to sit comfortable with food in your stomach when many around you are starving. Then the author asks, "How much more relevant could God be than to be a provider of food for life?" and "What good is religion if it cannot feed the hungry?" But, he points out, Satan was very close to the HALF truth. And a half truth can be so interwoven with a lie that it becomes deadly.. Ask yourself this question: "What kind of following would result if the sole reason for the affection towards the leader is that He provides his followers with bread?" Both motives would be wrong, for the provider and the reciever. These are the terms of reward and punishment that are mercenarily tainted and have diminishing returns, at best engendering compliance, but not love. Their appeal, too, is soo lost when offered as enticements or when withheld to engender fears. Dependence without commitment will ever look for ways to break the stranglehold.

Ravi goes on to talk about the real nourishment to our bodies, the only one that will suffice us entirely for eternity. People in the Bible were obsessed with bread. Their primary purpose and expression of enjoyment of life had seriously displaced both what bread was meant to do and what life was meant to be. I love this. The fact is, is that Jesus is our bread. We have to eat to live and be sustained. We have to partake in Him. How can Christians say their living in Christ when they aren't daily taking from Jesus as their source, like He has asked us and told us to do?

One more thing I love.. Ravi talks about every other religion having a leading exponent. There becomes a bifurcation, or a distinction at the heart of every other religion, between the person and the teaching. Mohammad, to the Koran. Buddha, to the Noble Path. Krishna, to his philosophizing. Zoroaster, to his ethics. And these teachers only point to their teaching or show some particular way. You listen to Zoroaster. Buddha's Noble Truth's instruct you. With Mohammad, the beauty of the Koran woos you.  But...

"By contrast, Jesus did not only teach or expound His message. He was identical with His message. 'In Him,' says the Scriptures, 'dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily.' He did not just proclaim the truth. He said 'I am the truth.' He did not just show a way. He said 'I am the Way.' He did not just open up the vistas. He said, 'I am the door.' 'I am the Good Shepherd.' 'I am the resurrection and the life.' 'I am the I AM.' In Him is not just an offer of life's bread. He is the berad. That is why being a Christian is not just a way of feeding and living. Following Christ beings with a way of relating and being."

Ah! I could eat this up. Alot of truth I really need to hear this fine Tuesday morning.

A treat

This video seems to be trending all over the internet, especially around my fellow uni kids to destress from exams and have a laugh. I watched the Jimmy Kimmel Halloween Candy one and laughed so much! Now, he came out with a Christmas one. A slight bit of my being feels bad for laughing at the little kiddie's expenses, but hopefully it doesn't emotionally scar them too badly and they can look back and laugh. Look at it Here. What stuck out to me the most is the little kid with the most presents under the tree is the most spoiled, rudest, and acts out the worst. It's really sad and I found pretty hard to watch!

On another note..I just realized in the overhead picture to my blog, the girl has no pants on and perhaps no undies either..:s I'm a bit disturbed and am thinking it's time for a new picture. Any suggestions??

Vernon

Mmmm, my current hemisphere (?) looks like this: An oversized comfy chair in one of my favourite colours, lime green, in the "upstairs" of Bean Scene coffee house in Vernon, British Columbia. I stumbled upon the "best coffee house in Vernon" by chance. I drove into old downtown with my Aunt this morning when she came in to work at their shop for the day. All my life, one of my favourite things to do is explore. So, naturally, I wandered around the old streets, lined with artsy shops, used book stores, and fine boutiques with "rare" treasures. When I walked into the Bean, the warm and comforting smell of java beans and wooden-rustic-mixed with rich purples and greens atmosphere assured me I'd come to the right spot! The dread-locked girls at the counter were sweet, and gave me the hotest cup of coffee I've ever had in-house, and a wi-fi network password POUR GRATUIT! (amazing, considering all other coffee shops charged for internet..I'm spoiled in Vancouver ;))

The downstair's layout is a compact space crammed with odly-shaped wooden tables, bar seating at the window, and COMFY CHAIRS. Upstairs is, well, MORE COMFY CHAIRS! Brilliant! They know how to draw people in. It's like being at home but not at home. The long stairwell upstairs is grandiose, lined with an intricately-designed carpet that could have been imported from Persia. The chandelier is something out of a Jane Austen novel. Upstairs is bright and beautiful. There are 3 different coloured walls: A rustic red, country yellow, and royal purple. And then there is the most beautiful table in the middle of the room. A long dark wood (sorry, I know nothing about wood types), with King and Queen-like chairs lined with red satin. Elaborate but cozy?! The windows are streaming in sunlight, looking out over the street, bar stools to sit at. There are a number of little tables scattered around, a fireplace, and a round table (my favourite). All the different coloured chairs have the comfy-factor. I tested them out. (Goldilocks?) Oh, and classical music is playing. Oh gosh, I just overheard a little girl asking her Dad where her pink book went (as she crawls under the coffee table..) Her dad answers (IN A HARRY POTTER ACCENT) "It was blown to smithereens daaahling". !!!!!! It's the simplest things with me...


And, the puzzle piece to fit it all together is a black coffee with cinnomen on top and a delicious book. I did bring my current read: "Jesus amound other God's" by Ravi Zacharias..but, did stop on the way here into two used book stores and bought a mystery novel that I confess, may take the front seat after this blog is done. I love used book stores, and books for that matter. There's something about walking through tightly-packed and narrow isles where books are piled up to the ceiling with every genre and book you could want that gets my neurotransmitters firing. Oh shoot, am I turning into my sisters?! Yes, both Melissa and Rachel would never pass up a pop into a used book store, and it is not unheard of for either to splurge on a few rare books. I'm starting to find the value in it too, though. When you're looking for one used book in a stack of thousands, and have perused too many used book shops to count, it's a fantastic feeling to find the needle in the haystack!

I have a view of snow-capped mountains looking over a valley. I have clothes on my back, money at my disposal, family that loves me, and more time than I've had all semester to do absolutely nothing. I am well aware of how blessed I am, and am grateful for it. Not many people are this "lucky". I think. Or they don't realize what they have. I know God could take all the comforts of life away and I would still be happy. At least I have to be well aware of that and check my heart constantly to make sure I know where my real treasures lie. I've been thinking about that lately, wondering if I value my "things" or "experiences" too much. I've heard a few people say that the way to test if money (or material things) are an idol to you is how generous you are with it. I would say this is accurate. I don't see money or things as treasures to be stored up and valued over everything. I take pleasure in giving away because I've seen over and over how much God has provided for me (and people I know) and given me OVER and ABOVE my needs. He gives me "wants". He lets me play and I believe, takes pleasure in seeing me enjoy His gifts. I do my best to budget and use money wisely, but I also don't worry about not having enough, or spending a little too much on someone else to bless them.

If God took it all away, I would still praise Him. And even more than before. Not to look spiritual, or in the hopes of gaining it all back and more. I would praise Him because He would still provide my needs and because I know He still loves me no matter how much or how little I have. And because He is my CREATOR. And how could I ever worry about what I have or don't have when the maker of the world, who made me, knows me and loves me and has promised to take care of me forever. Who has told me where I will go one day, and reminds me of the reason I am here on earth. In a funny way, when I remember that, everything else seems to fall out of view and nothing seems as important as my faith in Jesus Christ and relationship with Him.

I really, really love today.

(and this is a little capture of my surroundings..)

poetry at its bestest!

there once was a girl named karoline
who couldn't concentrate on her exam
she tried and tried to study parasites and cytokines
but she went limp like christmas ham

she went to the library to focus
but her mind kept wandering to outside and facebook
she tried to do magic like hokus pocus
then fell asleep in the little secret nook.

finally she bought some coffee
in hopes it would wake her mind
she spilled it all on her knee
and then it was time to leave the studying behind.

the end.

musings on a study night

I miss being a little girl and riding my bike simultaneously.
I now have 34 parasites, their life cycles, pathogenicity, history, geographic location, treatment, and diagnosis to memorize.. why not blog instead though?




this picture reminds me of the song new soul by Yael Naim..

"I'm a new soul
I came to this strange world
Hoping I could learn a bit 'bout how to give and take
But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear
Finding myself making every possible mistake"

youtube it/buy it/download it... :)

dreamland

I just had a nap this afternoon and woke up with the strangest feeling. It's that feeling you get after waking up and having just had a weird, bizzare dream. I dreamed that my mom confessed to me that she had taken drugs and overdosed..and that she had given me drugs when I was younger that allowed me to fly! ha! And then I started doing hard drugs. Bizzare! As I would never even go close to them.. the most overwhelming thing for me though was seeing my mom sob and in such regret and sadness because she had tried drugs and allowed me to. Especially because I've been thinking about my parents a lot lately and their salvation and daily walk with Jesus. Coincidentally (or not..), a complete stranger asked me at church today if my parents were saved, and within two seconds I couldn't talk, and tears just welled up in my eyes. That led me more to think about other families of friends where their sibling or parent doesn't really know Jesus and live a life to which God has called them to. I just want to shake them and scream something like.."You have NO idea what you are missing out on!" Then I thought about my own children when I eventually have kids and how I can do my best to raise them to love God and love others and teach them about their creator and their purpose on earth, but in the end it's really up to them what they decide to believe and live out. I think it's most discouraging when I look around and see my peers who have fallen away from God. I had a conversation a couple months ago with my friends about that exact topic and how their siblings, raised in the same family by loving, solid Christian parents that led by example, just fall away. And then I saw one of today's Sundays Secrets..

I feel like blogging

AHkdshfiadsh! I can't even believe it's been months since my last post in April. Reading friend's blogs has encouraged me and inspired me to keep this up. I sometimes feel bad because I can't seem to sustain a blog, but really, who cares if you don't post for weeks? The benefit for me is that it actually encourages me to journal on top of it, about the real, deep, spiritual stuff. As well, I always feel good after typing out a few paragraphs to the world on what's going on in my life.

I feel like I want to write a big long posty about my life since April, highs and lows, and significant things, but that will have to wait as I am currently in the libraray with my parasitology group. This is supposed to be a meeting, and I am supposed to be working on our powerpoint. Oopsies :)

Some GREAT things today...Oswald Chambers' devotional for the day. A text from a good friend. A grande coffee skim misto with 1.5 mocha pumps, cloudy rainy skies, a sleep-in, excited thoughts about Christmas, the best bowl of yogurt and granola for breakfast, a good prayer.

reading my friend jill's blog made me feel a big sense of appreciation for our long, drawn out autumn! I'm so tired of hearing everyone in vancouver complain about the rain. Rain is beauty! It's so fun putting on rainboots and my raincoat and trapsing to school :) Then coming home and putting on the kettle and snuggling up.


Here are some pictures I took with my iphone on one of my runs through the trails in late october

Sun, snowboarding, hiking..must mean school's out!

Nothing beats a good couple hours in the sun with a great book. Top it off with a knock-out breakfast and its a great morning start..(err...afternoon by now?) I've been feeling pretty lazy the past 4-5 days and its shown in my energy levels and exercise routines. This morning my legs felt like lead. I had initially packed a gym bag, but opted out and went for a 6k run instead and did some core/arm strengthening when I got back. It is a BEAUTIFUL warm, sunny day. The run took longer than usual but I didn't mind too much because it was so hot and the sea was sparkly today.

Although I've been slacking in the workout department.. I DID get some great snowboarding in on wednesday! Annelise, her friend Katie and I went up to grouse for what I think is the last run of the season. The snow was getting slushy and the weather was pretty mild. But, harder snow conditions makes for a harder workout. I think my thighs grew about an inch in diameter after the day was done haha!

Yesterday some friends and I took advantage of yet again another great day and went over to Deep Cove on the north shore to do some hiking. Deep cove is a cute little nook of a town with great outdoorsy things. The hike was only under 2 hours but still really nice - my first hike of the year! Some of the terrain was steep, definitely a good test of fitness..yikes! Next time we're going to bring bikes and do the biking trails around the cove.

Obvs super excited for a great day!

Anywho.. I have a lot of things to get done today before work. Bank run, phone calls, packing up..clean room, eek! I'm looking forward to a couple hours later when I can sit down and spend some time reading the Word. I've been reading Revelation the past couple days - it is such an amazing yet confusing book. I have read it before, but it seems like each time I read it, I am remembering stuff that I had completely forgotten. I'm hoping God teaches me some valuable stuff today.

It's official, I'm a foodie.

It's out! I love food. The healthy, wholesome, creative, fun-to-make and photograph food. (Also includes some recent baby-mush recipes that actually turned out great!) These are just a few foods that I've made in the last few weeks. For the recipes, just ask me in a comment! I take no credit some of these recipes. Some of them are thought up, but most are from other blogs or from ideas that I get from friends, and just tweaked a bit (rach...tweak! ;)) Here are some recent eats from a culinary newbie, I hope you ate before you read this!

Vanilla almond milk, srawberry, spinach, ice smoothie w/ plain oats and cranberries for crunch!

Power smoothie - (see Tuesday Times for full recipe/after pic)

Extra thick strawberry smoothie (frozen strawbs, strawberry whey protein powder, almond milk, pinch of xantham gum)

Carrot & Ginger juice (thanks mom! this was made from your big ol' green Champion Juicer!)

Warning: I love Oats.

Hot Organic Power Grains Wheat Free Cereal (hulled oats, millet, flax seeds + sunflower seeds) with mango chunkies

Overnight-Oat Parfait. Oats and Chia seeds soaked in Vanilla Almond Milk overnight come out fluffy, creamy and absorbed! Layer with strawbs,bluebs, oat bran, kamut cereal, and sliced almonds

Choco-PB oats: Steel cut oats, little cocoa powder (or carob as a substitute), little plain soy milk, banana slices (I used dried b/c fresh hurt my tummy), and tablesp. of maple-cinnamon almond butter made by yours truely ;)

Strawberry-Shortcake Oats: Fresh cooked warm oats, mixed in non-fat plain yogurt, vanilla amond milk for sweet, topping is strawberry granola, strawberries, unsweetened coconut flakes, and tablespoon sunflower butter(sooo yummy!)

Grapefruit bowl of oats: Rolled oats cooked fresh in grapefruit carved bowl, mix the grapefruit pieces in, with drizzled honey on top. Put other half in blender pulp and all for some yummy juice.

Power Muffin (from whole foods): unsweetened choco chunks, sunflower seeds, raisins, flax seeds, spelt flour, honey, walnuts, oats...i forget the rest! soo tasty though

Buckwheat Bakes - Makes 1 big one or 3 small to share:) Basically full of buckwheat flour, buckwheat grouts, cinnamon, 1 mashed banana, 1 flax egg(water and ground flax), vanilla almond milk for sweetner topped with pb & j! You can also use apple sauce instead of a banana. SO delish!

A fav leftover lunch: wasa flat crips with chicken, hummus (or guac), and sprouts.

Mango Salsa that Lise made (ive made it in the past before lots..easy and soo good)

"power bites" from whole foods: honey, carob powder, peanuts, brown rice syrup, sunflower seeds,  peanut butter, brown sesame seeds, cashews.

Apple and cranberry oatmeal granola bars

Spinach-Apple salad w/ cheese, cranberries, and figs

Mixed veggie omelet with salsa and tomato

A creation of mine..whole wheat pasta with asparagus. dressing: balsamic vinegar, olive oil, ginger, and some spices all tossed up. I later added parmesen cheese!

Anti-inflammatory (isn't everything though?) Sweet potato-carrot coconut Puree (with cinnamon, tumeric, ginger, light coconut milk, vanilla and maple syrup)

Dessert=my Oma's homemade apple sauce (thanks Oma!!) with granola and carob powder on top

Just because it looked like a face.

ces't fini!