Recipe Alert!

Nut bars AKA modified 5-ingredient-granola-bars

This is for Jennifer, and anyone else. I usually double this because my kids eat them so fast and I want to minimize my effort. They keep well in the fridge and if you want them to keep longer wrap them up and freeze them!

1 Cup packed, pitted dates
1/4 C honey
1/4 C nut butter (I use peanut butter, use what you love)
1 C roasted unsalted almonds, roughly chopped
1 1/2 C rolled oats

Optional add-ins
1/2 - 1 C unsweetened coconut
2Tbsp - 1/4 C chia seeds
1/4 C hemp hearts

 I use coconut flakes but shredded is good too!

 Since these aren't cooked, I like to use organic, and RAW honey....so good for you, yummmmm!

Toast your oats, almonds and coconut for 10-20 minutes on 300 depending on your oven and desired flavor. I like mine well browned because it makes a more intense flavor.

 Honey, nut butter and chia seeds are the beginning of your binding agent.... add to it the date dough.

Put your dates in the food processor and whirl them to oblivion, the more you process them the better they bind your bars together. Check for the occasional missed pit, they are rock hard and no fun to bite into.

 This is what the dates look like when properly processed, you can go even farther than this if you are an over achiever.

 Add the date goop to the mixer and mix until it is evenly distributed.

 whir whir whirrrrrrrr!

 Throw those toasty almonds into your food processor and give them a rough chop.

 Add in that toasty coconut, along with the toasty nuts and the oats.

 Blend it on med-low speed until the ingredients are evenly distributed paying special attention to the dates... they're sticky buggers.

 Dump it all out onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, put some coconut oil on your hands and push it into an even layer.

Use a rolling pin to mash it all down into a flat sheet and then refrigerate it until firm. Once firm you can cut it into bars and enjoy!

I put them into a tin with layers of parchment between and/or put into individual fold top sandwich baggies so they don't stick together into a big glob of nutty, datey mess.

Don't forget to modify with some of your favorite things!! Just remember if you add in more dry ingredients you will want to slightly increase your honey and nut butter otherwise it will be too "dry" and it will be too crumbly to make a nice bar.

Baptised

It has been many months since I visited this space but, what happened Sunday deserves more than a Facebook post.

After church, they were doing baptisms in Phoenix First Assembly's outdoor baptismal and encouraged people to go and watch and cheer on the people making their public declaration to follow Jesus. As we stood and cheered, Maddox had a conversation with his dad asking if he could also be baptized because he wants more people to know about Jesus.
He was one of the last few people to be submerged and after I hugged him and cheered him on I had to run Audrey to the bathroom. While wrapping up in there,  I got a phone call to hurry back out because Jetty was going in too, Pastor Luke Barnett climbed back in with Bing to baptize my sweet Jetty-boo. I am not sure the exact conversations they had with their dad but I do know these boys are fully ready to make the decision.
My Jetty wakes up singing songs to God and goes about his joyful, bouncy days singing all the while.  Jetty loves to pray healing over people and does so at every opportunity including meal time prayers to bless our food. He prays for healing almost as much as he sings praise.

My Maddox prays for all of the homeless people and beggars we see, asking if we can build them houses and/or bring them home with us. He has a heart for the lost and says he wants people to know God more.

    

To celebrate their decision we went and worked on a service project preparing a home to receive two single mothers and their children, it desperately needed painting to prepare for the flooring that will go in this week. These homes are being used to reunite families, getting children out of foster care and back with their parents providing them a safe and clean home along with a support system and people to walk with them on this journey. Restored Hope Family Ministry is the name of the game.

Then, on Monday, Bing and I celebrated our seventh anniversary, on 7/27... I love the number seven and it's biblical significance. I feel that a new chapter is about to open in our family, our life, our marriage, our businesses and I am so excited to see God's best for us in the next seven years! I am counting the baptism as a special anniversary present and have been joyfully emotional about the whole ordeal. 

MY CUP IS OVERFLOWING....

SURELY YOUR GOODNESS AND LOVE WILL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER. psalm 23:6