Two Answered Prayers & Truvia

A Lemon Truvia cupcake with regular buttercream

Hello again friends! Isn't it amazing when God answers prayers? First, I have to admit that I need to have more faith. I mean, look who we're dealing with here, THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE! Haha! This week I was contemplating my faith, the new year, and what changes I'd like to make in my life... and my waistline. I know, "give yourself a break, you just had a baby." I will give myself a little bit of a break but contrary to that last recipe I just posted that was full of calories, I do want to continue to eat healthier. I have to be very creative because someone I know (eh hmm, BLAKE) doesn't like a variety of fruit and veggies. So, I get to be extra innovative with the select few he does enjoy! Me, on the other hand, I LOVE fruit and vegetables and I could really eat most of them plain...mmm! However, the part where I go wrong is with sweets.

I've been conditioned to eat way too many sweets since the beginning. My mom raised me in a bakery! What can I say? So, I was praying that the Lord would give me self control with sugar. If we have the Holy Spirit, then we have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control (clap! clap! does anyone else know this song?) but we have to ask the Lord to help us put ourselves aside and listen to the Holy Spirit's lead. HE answered my prayer in disguise!

I got a random text from a friend at church who wanted to know if I'm still baking...obviously she hasn't seen these Andes mint cookies below or know anything about my addiction to sugar/baking. Haha! I was about to tell her no because I do get pretty preoccupied with this precious baby face in my house, buuuut I said yes. She wanted me to make some lemon cupcakes but with a twist... low calorie. Hmmm. Automatically I think, "WHY?" If you're going to have a cupcake, then HAVE a cupcake. Haha! Then, I remembered how I had been asking the Lord to help me with my out of control sweet eating. Ooooook God.

Enter, TRUVIA. $7.00 at Kroger, $5.98 at Wal Mart; since I'm losing my mind and can't remember anything these days. I need to find a good deal online! Maybe this is a good deal below?


TRUVIAAAA to the rescue! It's awesome! Have you heard of this stuff? I am a very picky sweet eater and the cupcakes I made with Truvia are SO GOOD! Like a good baker, I read the label and instructions and found the "baking blend" of it at the grocery. At first I thought that the bag was a wimpy size for the price however, you don't use nearly as much Truvia as you would sugar. In fact, it's a two to one ratio. For the not so math smart people, that means that if my fabulous buttermilk yellowcake recipe calls for two cups of sugar, I only use one cup of Truvia. How cool? Check out the calorie ratio...

Do you see how that calorie reduction? It's awesome! So glad that I read the Truvia label before I made a super sweet cake! However, I almost forgot to add the eggs to the mix haha. Mommy brain! Here's a link to their website since they can explain how awesome Truvia is way better than I can.  I can't wait to try more recipes from my own collection and from their website. Here's to Truvia and eating healthier sweets! I also just made some chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with Truvia and they are excellent! So exciting!

Another way that I've enjoyed eating healthier is this little amazing chunk of goodness... 
These breakfast cookies are SO good. I don't know why I feel so compelled to share them with you but they are just very special to me! Anything that says "cookie" on it and is good for you always sparks my interest! My momma bought me some of these when I came home with baby Jude and seven weeks later, I haven't gone a day without one. I'm addicted. They are so convenient when you are STARVING and breast feeding during those early morning hours. I've also gotten my husband, two friends, my mother in love, and sister in love, ( in law) to love them too! I've tried the Gingerbread, Pumpkin Spice, Mocha, Double Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Raisin, and Morning Glory flavors and I can not decide which one is my favorite. If you're looking for a healthy snack, breakfast, or guilt free treat then you should try these! Or don't try them and always wonder what you're missing out on! Someone told me they sell them at Smoothie King but I just order them online! YUM. Check out the all natural ingredients and nutrition facts...

There is one more answered prayer! As a believer in Jesus Christ, we are all commissioned by Christ to share what we believe. I was praying that God would provide me with the opportunity to share my faith with someone this week. Since I'm at home with baby, I don't have quite the same amount of interaction with other people face to face as I did, say, at a huge office that I used to work at! So, the few people that I see at the grocery, gas station at the grocery, the red light, and the drive through at the bank, is all I have, right? That would be my perspective but God reminded me that He can use me through Facebook and my blog. Did you know that God may be speaking to you through Facebook? Crazy, huh? He wants to speak to us more through His word though! It's awesome! God answered my prayer in that someone I hardly know sent me an email through which I was able to share my faith! How amazing, glory to God! If that person is reading this, I'm not embarrassed for you to know that God knows you, loves you, and answered a pray through you! 

It doesn't matter if you want to, think you're good at it, or not, we are all called and hopefully compelled to share the gospel. NOT our opinion on the scriptures but the actual scripture. How do you do this? Not by your own strength by any means. So, in efforts to keep on spreading the truth and praise God for answering my prayer, I am going to go ahead and share with YOU. 

There's a lot of people (including myself at times) that believe or struggle with the idea that we have to be "good" and be religious so that God will accept us or so that we can go to heaven. It's really sad because as God's son, wholly God and wholly man, Jesus gave himself and PAID for our sins. 

There's nothing we can do to earn His approval, salvation, or love other than believing in Christ and His work. It's so freeing because He did it for us. He gives us GRACE. Ephesians 2:8-9 talks about this; "For by grace you have been saved through faith in Christ. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." It is really hard for us to believe this, especially as Americans, because our society is built upon our record of performance, resumes, grades in school, etc. So, for someone to say that salvation is a FREEEE gift is hard for us to accept! It's hard for me sometimes even though I believe it.

Are you trying to make yourself feel better by being religious? God already loves you for who you are!! Obviously, God doesn't love the sin but instead, the sinner.

For me, I was about seven years old when I realized that I needed the Lord. I knew that I sinned and that I couldn't fix that problem on my own. However, it wasn't until I was in middle school that I began to really seek the Lord on a daily basis...reading the Bible, praying, and talking to God. Not because I had to or to be religious, but because I wanted to. I remember reading John 14:6,"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." God loves us so much that he made it really clear! My parents got a divorce when I was four years old so through high school I began to date just about anyone and everyone (haha). I realized in college that I was searching for someone to love me but only God's love was big enough!! I believe that He sacrificed himself when we deserve to pay for our sin, not Him. It wasn't until I accepted God's love, grace, and mercy, that I could love myself or anyone else. We all struggle with sin, but once you believe and accept God's grace, you are forgiven for every sin... past, present, and future. 

Romans chapter 8:1-2 says, "Therefore, there is now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." Also, Hebrews 7:27 says, He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself." I can't believe that he offered... crazy.

You may be thinking, "wait, what about all those verses in the Old Testament about following laws?" Man! I get so frustrated with this. I mean, would you open up a Twilight book, read one sentence, and then assume you know what the heck they are talking about from that one sentence? No! Hahah! It's so important to read not just the whole chapter the verse came from, but the whole Bible, just like any other book. A LOT of people get confused and take the Old Testament out of context because it was before Jesus died. Before Jesus died, God gave His people rules, laws, and commandments as a part of the "Old Covenant" he made with Abraham, to protect them, to separate them from the people who didn't believe in God. Also, they had to make animal sacrifices to be forgiven. So, when Jesus came, he fulfilled the "Old Covenant" and made a "New Covenant" since He PAID in full for our sins. He is the sacrifical, unblemished Lamb Of God! Jesus talks about this the night that he died when he was eating with his disciples. He takes bread and wine and says that they symbolize the New Covenant that He's about to make on the cross. 

When you believe in the work Christ did, he changes your heart, you still sin, but are completely forgiven, and there's nothing that can take away your salvation. Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." It's so awesome!!!

I just feel like I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't explain to you what I believe is the truth. God loves you. You were made to know Him.