The GO! Kitchen

Healthy Chocolate Shake

Recipe for Chocolate Shake

2 frozen bananas

2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa

1 cup of Silk Almond Coconut Blend

1 tbsp. of Almond Butter (can substitute peanut butter if you like)

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Optional – doTerra Peppermint Essential Oil – 2 to 3 drops

Blend until creamy. You can add more or less of each ingredient depending on how much you want to make. Enjoy!

*There are only 5 grams of sugar per cup of Silk Almond Coconut Blend.

*Freeze bananas when they are freckled. The more freckles the sweeter the banana.

(If you receive this post by email you can watch a video of me making the chocolate shake on my blog site.)

FDA Disclaimer: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Federal Drug Administration.”

If you are interested in ordering Peppermint oil you can go to my doTerra Essential Oils website.

Everyone has pain. For some it’s physical, for some emotional, for some financial, for some it’s all areas. A lot of people that know me don’t realize that I push myself to work in spite of pain. It’s funny because people see me with so much energy but they don’t realize many times I go home and drop from exhaustion and pain. Fortunately I’ve learned to pace myself most of the time. I know when I’ve pushed beyond my limit and it’s time to rest. I used to be so embarrassed when I would need to take nap. I was afraid if any one knew they would think I am lazy. My sweet husband encouraged me and helped me realize I have to do what it takes to stay strong.

Philippians 4:13 has always been one of my favorite scripture verses. I really do rely on Christ as my strength in every area of life. He is so faithful to help me in whatever situation I am facing. A few years ago my doctor told me I have fibromyalgia. When I’m stressed or overly tired it really affects me. I’ve learned that sugar and processed food make it worse so I strive to eat good food that won’t cause pain. (In another blog later I will share some of the yummy natural sweets I enjoy.) Some mornings I wake up hurting all over. The best thing is for me to get up and get moving and start doing whatever I need to do. It seems when I push through the pain, the pain begins to ease a little.

I’ve learned when I am hurting emotionally, the best thing I can do is take my mind off of me and help someone else that is hurting. Is it easy? No, but can I do it? Yes. I am an “I Can” woman. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Why am I sharing this? I know so many people suffer from all types of pain. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but for some I believe if you will push through the pain, especially emotional pain, and reach out to others, you will find yourself starting to feel better at least for the moment. The more I take my mind off of me and look for ways to encourage others, the better I start to feel about me. Plan to bless others on purpose.

One more thing. I have to guard what I think about. If I just sit and think about what is going wrong in my life or around me I could get severely depressed. Philippians 4:8 says, “Whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, think on these things. So think about what you are thinking about. Choose to think about good things. Refuse to allow your mind to become a negative pit. Anything that is praise worthy, think on these things.

I hope this has encouraged you. 🙂

Family Time

I invited our eight year old granddaughter over this afternoon. We had such a good time swimming in a friend’s pool. I love her heart for others. She told me today she feels like she is supposed to be a missionary when she grows up. She said she is too young to go away right now but she can start by reaching out to her friends and new kids at school. She said she can pray for them and read the Bible at school. We passed a fireworks tent and she said, “Nana, I feel for people that only have a tent for their church. We should pray for them.” I told her what that tent is for and she said yes, but there are some churches that only have a tent. So I suggested she pray for them. She said sure and began to pray for people to have peace and heal the people that are sick and help churches that only have a tent to get a better church. This is why Jesus tells us to come to him with the faith of a child. Children believe God will do what He says He will do.

On a side note here’s a funny thing sweet little grand asked me today. She said, “Nana, I haven’t seen my other Nana & Papa for a while. I forgot, are they black or white? or Is one black and one white?” I told her that they are white and she said, “I guess I’m white then.” As far as I know she’s never asked about skin color up until now. I’m so thankful that our grands are growing up with a love for all people. Our church has about 15 different nationalities represented and our grand girls feel loved by so many of our people. This last Sunday morning I saw her and a friend walking around and greeting everyone they could with handshakes or hugs. If our world could learn from children we would be color blind and much more forgiving and trusting.

This evening we went over to daughter and son in law’s for a cook out. After our yummy burgers and beans, we played Apples to Apples. It was great spending time with family. Only way it could have been better is if our baby girl from Washington State could have been with us. I’m so thankful for our family.

Why I Do What I Do

I love my life. Not that I don’t have some tough days because I do, but over all I am so blessed. My desire is to live a life that is pleasing to my personal Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I absolutely love that Jesus wanted a personal relationship with me. For me, Christianity isn’t all about a bunch of rules of do’s and don’ts. I actually have a close friendship with Jesus. I love that He is always there for me in good times and bad. I talk with God about everything. Yes, I mean pretty much everything. I even ask Him on some days what to wear. Well, since He knows what I will be facing, I figure He knows best what I should be wearing. I realize to some that might sound a bit over the top, but for a female pastor/pastor’s wife, we are on call 24/7. It’s not like He speaks out loud and says wear this pair of pants and that top. It’s just a knowing in my heart.

I love that God cares about whatever I care about. He cared so much when my father was laying in a hospital bed dying from a ruptured aortic aneurysm over 9 years ago. We had just arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska to see our daughter and first new born grand daughter when my uncle called with the news. I called my mom and she verified what was going on. She told me not to come home but to stay in Alaska with my daughter. I told her that I would pray about it. I got off the phone and talked it over with my husband and then we prayed. When I felt a release to stay, I asked God that if it was my father’s time to go to please hold him for me until I got back home and could go see him. God did more than that. He healed him. The doctors called my dad the miracle man. That was pretty amazing to say the least. I had such peace the whole time I was in Alaska.

So, the other night I was at a memorial service and some how I lost one of my earrings. These earrings were hand made by a precious friend and they were pretty expensive to make. Besides that, I really like them. I told a few people about the missing earring and said if you happen to see it please let me know. One person said to me, “The chances of you ever finding that earring are next to none”. I thought, obviously she doesn’t know who I’ve been talking to. You see, as silly as it may sound, I asked God to please help me find the earring if it was to be found. I had retraced my steps and didn’t see it any where. I chose not to worry. Six days after it was lost my husband showed me an earring he had just found at the church and asked if this was mine. I was happy but not really surprised. The funny thing is, when I asked where he found it, he said it was in the center of the lobby floor. There had been a lot of traffic in that lobby and I had looked there. What are the chances? So thankful God even cares about earrings. This is just one story of many that I could share with you.

Why do I do what I do? Because I am in love with my Jesus. It’s about relationship. He really loves me and cares about me. I want others to know Him the way I do. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t love Jesus just because He answers my prayers, because sometimes He says no. I love Him because He first loved me. He chose me. I certainly haven’t arrived in my relationship with Him but I am working on it. It’s a day to day process.

A Healthy Frozen Treat on a Hot Day

Who says you can’t be healthy and eat sweets? I absolutely love it when I come across a recipe for a sweet treat and it’s actually pretty good for you.Thanks to my friend at thebohemiansprout.com who shared this idea with me. Soon I will show you how I make my yummy chocolate shake using frozen bananas.

Pictured on the left is the popsicle I made today from orange juice. It was so refreshing. Just pour a cup of orange juice into a sandwich bag and clip it on the side and freeze it. When it’s ready to eat just remove the clips and open the top and enjoy!

Much Accomplished

Monday is our day off so we decided to rearrange our master bedroom today. We cleaned it thoroughly. The curtains were washed, the bed skirt, the mattress pad, and the blanket. The ceiling fan blades were cleaned and everything thoroughly dusted. It feels so good to have this done. We try to do this approximately twice a year. I also washed the bathroom rugs for both bathrooms. I love a clean home. I still have other things to do to spiffy up the rest of the house but I will get it all done eventually and then start all over again. See picture of finished room below.

My husband tried my new DIY marble tub cleaner on our shower tonight. It worked pretty good. I absolutely love it for our big marble tub. It works amazingly on marble. To make this DIY cleaner you just mix 2/3’s bottle of warm water with 1/3 bottle of Seventh Generation Dish soap. Shake well and spray it on. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then wipe away soap scum with ease. Rinse the tub and voila, your done. See picture of ingredients below. Warm Water, Dish Soap, Spray Bottle. So easy!

We ended our day with an omelet for dinner and a healthy home made chocolate milk shake later for dessert. We even had time to watch an episode of White Collar.

An Essential Oil’s Testimony

I have a roller bottle blend that is great for relieving head and neck tension. A friend of mine’s daughter tried it the other day and was amazed at how quickly she found relief. If you want to learn more about Essential Oils email me at TheGingerOptimist@gmail.com.

Picture: Blend in a Roller Bottle made from Peppermint oil, Soothing blend, and fractionated coconut oil. This stuff is amazing.

FDA Disclaimer: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Federal Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.”

Hello world!

This is my very first post and my first time to ever blog. I’m pretty excited about giving this a try. I hope you will enjoy my random thoughts, recipes, etc. I will be blogging about many different things from cooking healthy meals, photography, DIY beauty products, DIY cleaning products, the benefits of essential oils. family, and Christianity. Enjoy! 🙂

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