Hi dear friends!! I just want to let you know that I truly appreciate every single one of you readers despite my serious times, and my silly times. 
Teeheeehee…I guess I sort of jumped onto the bandwagon of Jenn’s WIAW from Peas & Crayons. Thank you for this fun link Jenn! Check out her blog if you have the chance. She’s a truly sweet gal and I’m sure you’ll think the same.
It was very tasty and I recommend eating most porridges with peach+apricot preserves! They were made for each other. 
Today’s lunch featured Mother’s Korean Bean Paste (AKA Dwenjang) soup with some leafy stuff of which I don’t know the English name haha! Let’s just call it The Leaf That Must Not Be Named.
I paired it with toasted Rudi’s Spelt English Muffins, provolone, onions, and semi-homemade BBQ beans, with roasted carrots on the side. I used TJ’s Kansas BBQ sauce and it pretty much tasted like a healthy chili! 
I worked out for an intense 15 minutes doing Interval training exercises and ended up sweating like a pig! Wait, do pigs sweat??! Oh, what a silly question.
After a grueling (and fun) workout, I usually opt for a cold smoothie or protein green monster, but this time I decided to have something a wee bit more natural.
This bowl contains Fage Greek yogurt, plain kefir, banana, watermelon, SSB+espresso Granola (again), and sunflower seed butter.
I guess I was really craving something with lots of tang! That, and I didn’t want to wake my nephew up with my loud blender. You know, me being a great aunt and all.
I hope you enjoyed my WIAW!!!
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Yesterday i went to an intercessory prayer meeting. We spent a few hours praying for the church, the pastors, our nation, and the world basically!
I am so stoked about what’s to come! I genuinely feel like God is up to something, and that something is gon’ be good.
Tonight Greg and I went to a Bible study that we normally attend on Wednesdays. The pastor never fails to bring up mind prodding questions and controversial statements. We literally learn so much every time we go.
We discussed Mark chapter 7 and the take home message was that we so easily become entrenched in traditions, yet we never question them. We all follow a tradition of some kind whether we like them or not.
For example, the Bible doesn’t specifically command, “Thou shalt pray before your meals”; however, if we truly know Christ and His sacrificial love for us, then shouldn’t we always be thankful for everything regardless? In the end, it can’t be a bad thing.
Not only that, but Jesus lead by example when He directly thanked God the Father before He broke the bread and the fish in the Gospels. To me, there is no better example than His actions!
Obviously, praying before a meal is always a good thing–unless it becomes something we feel guilty of if we don’t follow it. Everything we do for God should be done with the right heart. Even the “right” things can be unhealthy if we let them control us.
Christ died and rose again for US so that we can be free from sin and bondage to human traditions!! He doesn’t want us to be enslaved to anything…His desire is for us to be free. Otherwise, His work on the cross becomes nullified and doesn’t mean anything in our personal lives. The things that come out of our hearts and mouths are what matter, not the traditions that supposedly make us better individuals if we were to follow them to a T.
So what traditions do we follow that we don’t even know the meaning of, but we still do them? There are just so many out there! But God delights in a heart that is truly seeking Him and glorifying Him.
Gosh, I wish I could write up all my thoughts in here! But this little post of mine can only handle so much at this moment. Next time!
My hope is that you will always find truth, and in return, that you will find the fullness of joy in Christ, who loves you and deems you so highly!
When you and I go through the roller coasters of life, He wants to be our ROCK. I mean, how could such a great God care about our little selves, our big problems, and sometimes even our embarrassingly small problems? The truth is that He cares. He cares for the most minute things we can think of. I hope you know His amazing love tonight.
No problem is too great or small for Him to handle, and boy am I glad about that!
Grace & Peace,
Ellie <33
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
What a beautiful entry with some beautiful food! I agree with the whole idea of becoming comfortable with traditions without even realizing why we do them. That was actually a topic at my bible study a few weeks ago. Thanks for sharing
Yeahhh that prayer bit was just an example from P.Josh, but there are numerous things that we can follow without thinking. So cool that you discussed the same thing!
wow, so I never really looked at saying grace before a meal that way. I’d love to hear more on this topic. Human traditions can really block our minds from the grace of God sometimes.
I like how you put that Lindsay, true that.
“That leaf that must not be named,” HAHA! I totally cracked up with that one.
Loving your eats! Isn’t coconut butter wonderful? I don’t know what I ever did without it.
YAYYAYYY! so glad you/someone caught it! I thought I would be the only one cackling to myself haha.
Yaay for joining the WIAW party! Wow everything looks so delicious and fresh! I love peach and apricot together too
And english muffins with beans – yummm!!
haha WIAW is fun! I’ve been missin’ out
“Christ died and rose again for US so that we can be free from sin and bondage to human traditions!! He doesn’t want us to be enslaved to anything…His desire is for us to be free. ”
OH my gosh I LOVE THIS LINE!!!!! wow!!! Thank you so much for sharing that. You are SO right- God doesnt make us follow a set of rules, and thank GOODNESS He doesnt because I would suck at that! Thank you for your boost of encouragement. that bible study sounds awesome! I LOVE bible studies that challenge you and make you think, because that is how we grow!!
oh and love the WIAW eats of course
LOVE YOU SISTA!
haha I always say that I would suck at that too! And that I’d for sure be doomed 0_0 Love YOU my dear~
This sandwich looks awesome! I love the beans on the sandwich…great idea!
Amen to everything here girl
And your pictures are AMAZING. Your food is totally gorgeous!
Hehe thanks!! I’m still practicing as a hobby, and it’s so fun.
I don’t know what it is, but that english muffin looks SO fluffy and delicious…
Oh, Rudi’s is awesome!!!! All their muffins are really good.
Ohh my goodness. I am so glad you commented on my post! Your comment was SO sweet. You are gorgeous and from this one post I can already tell you have a GREAT heart and mind. I will ferrrsherr be reading more. And YuummaYY food. I gotta try that porridge!
Brittany, thanks for coming by! I think that I’m being more blessed by YOU!! I’m glad to have found your home too
yummy – I’m lovin your eats!
That farro porridge looks fantastic!
ellie, your post never fails to encourage me. amen. God cares so much for us, even the little things.
i’ve been so convicted to pray lately. mmmm 
and watermelon and yogurt? hahaha i can’t fathom that just yet….. lol. i love this “the leaf that shall not be named”
. so funny!
haha i know! I just threw the w.melon in there b/c I didn’t have a lot of fruit. But it actually goes well together!! Especially if it’s super sweet+juicy. I’m so glad you feel encouraged! You know why? It’s because you’re an easy to encourage individual.
I love how vibrant the colour of your preserves are! I’ve been putting a spoonful of raspberry jam on mine lately – almost as good?
oh yessss of course it is just as good!
Hmm preserves down-unda aren’t as vibrant? interesting!
omg girlie, your blog is looking amazing!! I’ve been so behind on blogs with everything lately but I’m so terribly impressed with what you’ve done here!!!
The pictures are lookin’ BOMB and I love the header, too! That peach + apricot porridge is seriously CALLING my name! and ok, so is that yogurt bowl, lets be real; I want it all!
Wow thanks Olivia! haha it certainly wasn’t easy figuring out all this “computer” stuff
Everything you ate looks so good. I especially like the yogurt & fruit
“The Leaf That Must Not Be Named” <- Lol! That made me giggle XD
Your eats look sooo good btw, apricot preserves ROCK!
I love how your posts are always so inspiring; thank you so much!
Love cold smoothies and yogurt bowls after a tough workout. And you do have me wondering – do pigs really sweat? LOL
That’s a very interesting message. I never thought about that either with questioning traditions. But if they help us keep up with positive things, like praising God, then defintely good in my book. As long as they don’t lose the meaning of course. We once did a study on the Lord’s Prayer and how easily it is to say out of rote memorization…but when you really think of WHAT you’re saying and praying, it truly is all you need to ask from God and a great model for every prayer we say.
Thanks for the insight Tina! Love that you always add a twist to it. And if we think about it, saying the Lord’s Prayer or any praise for that matter, out of rote memorization, is just like going up to your husband and telling him how handsome he is and how much you love him/his character because you’ve been forced to memorize those lines!
I just wanted to say I love that quote at the bottom…sometimes I get very anxious and worried – and I try to think and remember that I (we) are never alone – God is walking beside us….
And I’m not a religious person at all! But believing that there is a “higher” being and purpose gives me more strength.
aww that’s great!! So happy for you in that it gives you strength–because He’s working in our lives whether we like it or not
What delicious food Ellie! That breakfast looks amazing
It’s fun to join in on the WIAW 