RECIPE: Fresh fruit, tofu & granola parfait

Fresh fruit, tofu & granola parfait

(serves two)

Hey Loves! This is what the hubby and I ate for dessert on Valentine's Day. It's my own, homemade recipe (as most of the things I cook are, lol), but we absolutely LOVED them! Give it a try and let me know what you think. God bless.

What you'll need:
6 Large, fresh strawberries
6 Large, fresh pineapple chunks
1 Two-pack Honey & Oats Nature Valley granola bar
1/4 Cup of Nasoya tofu
Bowl
Fork
Two small dessert cups

Directions:
Use a small mallet to grind granola bars into a loose, powdery form, but still leave a few small chunks.

Slice strawberries into thin slices, then place in bowl. Use the fork to smash the strawberries as much as you can until somewhat creamy with small strawberry chunks. Scoop strawberries into dessert cups. Set extra strawberries to the side to be used later. Then, scoop a layer of granola over the strawberries.

Next, mix pineapple chunks and tofu in blender until smooth. (Note: If you do not have a blender, you can mix the pineapples and strawberries in the bowl using a fork the same way you did the strawberries. But be sure to cut the pineapple chunks very thin). Scoop a thick layer of this mixture into each dessert cup.

Finally, add another layer of your strawberry blend over the pineapple mixture. Top with one final layer of granola. I like my top layer to have more chunky granola than loose, but it's up to you.

Let dessert cups in refrigerator while eating dinner, then serve chilled.

ENJOY!


With A Servant's Heart, 
Ashley Danielle

Living in the -ing

I am one busy woman.

Like most young women in their twenties, I have been trained since I was in elementary school to do all I can prove I was worthy of respect and better than the rest. So the fact that on any given day I am faced with a to-do list jammed with more items than most people have in a week is no surprise. I am constantly on the go, and sometimes find myself running off of only 3 or four hours of sleep (not healthy), and I try to strive for a life free of imperfections (not Biblical).

Yep, sometimes I have my alone time w/God @ Starbucks :-)

Most of my life I was taught to live in the -ing. When I say living in the -ing, I mean I was made to believe that as long as I was making moves, I was on the road to success. What I didn't realize was that it is so easy to get caught up in the busy distractions of life that camouflage themselves as necessary assets to happiness, and by doing so I was missing out on countless moments where I could be growing closer to God.

If you haven't read the book Weird by Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of Life Church, I highly suggest that you do. While reading, I found myself being challenged over and over again to become "weird in a God way" in the way I worship. The chapters the stuck with me the most were the ones pertaining to how we spend our time. I often find myself saying that I simply do not have enough time. I say things like:

• "I want to finish reading that book, but I don't have enough time."
• "I really love hanging out with my grandmother, but I don't have enough time."
• "I want to spend more time with my niece, but I don't have enough time."
• "I want to wake up earlier so I can really dig into the Scriptures before I get my day started, but there just isn't enough time." 

...and the list goes on.

Why do we allow ourselves to be lied to so easily by Satan? And on some of the simplest topics. The majority of the professing Christian world may not be diligent Bible scholars, but we know the basics. We know that God is the Creator of all (Genesis 1,2). We know He is eternal and infinite (Revelation 22:13). We know He is the only true God, He is all powerful, what He says will happen will do just that, and He is sovereign (Isaiah 46:9-11). But we let Satan convince us that He can't do something and minuscule as make sure we have enough time in a day. We let his lies convince us that it's okay to ignore precious moments with our families and pouring ourselves into God's word...because we have better things to do.

God is the Author of time! He planned it all and He has given us the exact amount of time we need to get everything done that He wants us to accomplish.

How dare we feel as though we can't stop moving long enough to sit and bask in the glory of His presence. How dare we worry if whether or not we will reach our goals if we don't spend every waking moment striving to be the best. We should not live our lives looking opportunities to sqeeze in time for God, but we should make Him the focus and foundation of all we do and then ask Him how He wants us to fulfill our other obligations with the time He has provided. When we go about it the other way around, not only are we idolizing our jobs, schoolwork, ministry commitments, etc., but we are telling God that our to-do list is more important than spending time with Him.

Let me say this, the best me I could ever be is the me I am when I am dedicating all of my time to my King, when I make LIVING for Him my primary -ing. When I spend my time learning about Him, dying to myself so I know Him more, and understanding that He is the most loving and caring Person in my life...well, it's beyond humbling.

So, the next time you find yourself caught up in the busyness of living a life that is nothing more than a conformity to what the world considers to be "normal"...slow down, breathe, find a quiet spot (and maybe even a nice cup of coffee or tea) and spend some time with God. He wants your time.


With A Servant's Heart, 
Ashley Danielle

Desirable

Last week, I was on an ooVoo chat with my Thursday night Bible study group (shoutout to the women of "FaVa"!), and one of the members made a purely transparent statement as we exchanged prayer requests. She asked that we pray for God to increase her desire to live for Him wholeheartedly because she understood that it didn't matter how dedicated she was to Bible study if her heart and mind were not focused on abandoning the old her for a new Holy Spirit induced upgrade.

Wow!

Ok, so maybe I changed the wording a little, but that was her main point.

It's amazing how many times we belive that we can live a Christian life being half in and half out, partially in love with God and partially in love with the world, somewhat wanting to change and somewhat blissfully settling for medicrity. We complacently give God a piece of us, and then say He's abandoned us when we think He hasn't given us His all.

James 1:22-24 says,

"Do what God's teaching says; when you only listen and do nothing, you are fooling yourselves. Those who hear God's teaching and do nothing are like people who look at themselves in a mirror. They see their faces and then go away and quickly forget what they looked like (NCV)."

I'm not sure if I even understood the magnitude of that Scripture the first time I read it a few years ago. I lived so much of my life foregtting my own reflection, foregtting that I was made in the image of God. Completely satisfied with the portion of God I was getting at the result of me only giving Him a portion of me. I didn't really desire to know Him. If I did, I wouldn't have been simply listening to what my pastor was saying, and still doing something elese. I wouldn't have been reading Scriptures in text messages I got from family members, friends, and co-workers and just giving them a quick head-nod in agreeance before I closed my phone and texted whoever my current "boo-thang" was. (Yes, I said "boo-thang, lol). I wanted to reap all of the benefits that I knew God had stored up for those who followed Him, but I didn't want to make the sacrifices necessary to receive those blessings.

But I tell you now...God is so DESIRABLE! His love is like nothing I have every experienced. He is my everything. I am getting super-excited as I type right now just thinking about Him, and knowing that He's watching me right now. I am His daughter; He is my true Father...my King. Once I made the choice to go all in for Him, He increased my desire even more with every word I read. James 5 goes on to say in verse 25a, "But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God's perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it (NCV)." AMEN! The more I take the time to really pour myself into God's word, the more desireable a relationship with Him becomes. My eyes are opened to my shortcomings, and I am made even more aware that He is the only way I can be whole.

Plainly put, the simple fact that He desired me so much that He sent Jesus to die so I could one day spend eternity with Him is all I need to know to make Him be forever desireable in my heart.

With A Servant's Heart,

Ashley Danielle

New Year, Newlywed, New Beginning...New Blog!

I'm Baaaaaack!

I apologize for being gone for so long, but I am happy to say that Felicia's Daughter is now back up and running!

I took a year off while I completed grad school (which I did right before Christmas), and I am pleased to say that on May 12, 2012 I will walk across the stage at Liberty University and be presented with my M.A. in Executive Leadership - Christian Counseling! Whoo-hoo!

Even more exciting...I got married the same day I finshed classes! I was blessed to become the wife of the wonderful Shelton J. Flores, and I smile like a little school girl everytime I think about spending the rest of my life with him.

God has been so good to me, and I owe Him everything!

While I was completeing my master's I was introduced to some amazing people, and God poured out some almost unimginable blessings in my life. I want to make sure that I use this little piece of the Internet world to share the gifts He has given me with whoever He allows to see.

This will be a place for me to simply speak about my daily walk with Christ, and give whatever little nuggets of advice the Holy Spirit happens to lay on my heart. In no way do I consider myself to be an expert theologian or anything like that, but I am a woman who loves God and lives to serve Him. So, if my experiences can help someone else as they journey along this path, then I am more than happy (more like priveledged) to share.

With A Servant's Heart,

Ashley Danielle