cheap grace vs. Costly Grace

"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves...the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance...grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."
                                                                                        -Dieterich Bonhoeffer, German priest/martyr

As a man is...

As a man is, so he prays. We make ourselves what we are by the way we address God. The man who never prays is one who has tried to run away from himself because he has run away from God. But unreal though he be, he is more real than the man who prays to God with a false and lying heart.
-Thomas Merton

The Frozen Chango

Serving size: 1 glass

• 1/2 cup frozen mango
• 1/2 cup frozen cherries
• 2 tbsp flaxseed
• 2-3 prunes
• 2 tbsp real coconut flakes (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup vanilla kefir   
• Water to get the desired consistency 

Blend all until smooth. This one's nice and tart.

Fig, Prosciutto, and Mixed Greens Pizza

Serving Size: 1 big pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 prepared multigrain dough ball (from Whole Foods)
• ~3 cups Mixed greens (such as spinach, arugula, swiss chard, kale.....)
• 6 large figs, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces
• 1 oz package of prosciutto, thinly sliced.
• 8 oz fontina cheese, sliced or shredded into small pieces
• 1 red onion
• Balsamic Vinegar
• olive oil
• black pepper
• salt
• 1-2 tbsp butter
• cornmeal

Preheat oven to 450. Place pizza stone in oven to preheat.

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Thinly slice red onion and add to skillet. Cook slow and steady until onion caramelizes (about 10-15 minutes). Reserve on the side.

Put sliced figs in a small bowl. Add 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and toss well to combine. Let sit on the side.

Sprinkle counter top with flour and roll out dough to desire shape. Sprinkle fontina cheese all over it. Then sprinkle crushed black pepper all over it. Take pizza stone out of the oven. Sprinkle cornmeal over pizza stone, then immediately transfer pizza to the stone. Place in oven and bake around 10 minutes...or until edges brown and cheese is bubbly. You should be able to smell it really good!

Meanwhile, place mixed greens in a bowl and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Reserve on the side.

Take pizza out of the oven and immediately arrange prosciutto slices, figs, and caramelized onions evenly over the top of the oven. Put entire pizza back in the oven for 1-2 minutes, just until the figs/prosciutto/onions get hot. Remove pizza from oven and top with tossed mixed greens. Some might be a little confused...is it a salad or a pizza??  (i.e. Paul Sprehe) Taste and see.

Let cool for about 5 minutes and then slice and serve. Unbelievable.

The "Too Good to Be True" Smoothie

Serving size: 1 glass

• 1 cup frozen mango
• 1 generous handful of super greens (spinach, kale, swiss chard, collards...whatever you have)
• 5-7 prunes
• 1 generous splash of vanilla kefir
• enough water to give it a smoothie consistency

Add all to a blender or magic bullet and voila. It is too good to be true.

When I taste your Goodness, I shall not want.

Choose Life

No job, no plans, no possessions, no idea of "freedom" can take the place of love. So anything that destroys God's gift of motherhood destroys his most precious gift to women -- the ability to love as a woman."

Mother Teresa