Y’all, this has officially been my favorite fall foodie season ever. I don’t think I had met nearly as many foodie bloggers last year, and this year, wow, there is no end of the most delicious recipes and foods to try and to make.
One of the most amazing things about meeting this foodie bloggers over the internet is that I’m not afraid of the personalities behind the blogs, because I’ve realized that these people are PEOPLE. They all have individual lives that are unique and precious, and they are fun and happy and creative. Thank you BGB Community for teaching me that and so many other bloggers.
Bloggers are people too! Meet them. Hear their stories, make their recipes, and make friends with…
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I’ve also been spending some … um… time on the ‘gram, and I’ve found some of these most recent finds on Instagram and through some other friends. 
This won’t just be food though, because I’m kind of doing a ‘think out loud’ post, so it will be food, faith, deep thoughts, not so deep thoughts, and stories about what’s happening lately over here with Amanda and all ze other bloggers!
Thinking out Loud: Food, Faith, and thoughts for #thinkingoutloud Thursday!
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So… what has been on my mind lately?
Thought #1 – Am I living worthy of the gospel? I am so convicted that the gospel is amazing. It’s the most amazing good news that the world will ever hear, so why do I even conscience one day as a miserable Christian?
‘Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;’
Seriously, that’s an oxymoron, and this verses from Philippians 1:27 has really been digging deep into me and making me ask, ‘What is my life in the eyes of Christ? Is it foolish or holy? Is it glorious or ghoulish?’
Would God say of me what He said of Job, ‘And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there isnone like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?’
Yeowch? That hurts because it makes me think of how many times I grumbled and complained in this past week, when I should have been REJOICING, thanking God for His great salvation, and taking up my cross and following Jesus?
This gospel is WHAT gives me hope in spite of the CRAZY election series. It gives me hope that Jesus is King, that Jesus is Lord, and that Jesus saves souls, something that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton can’t do. He can even save their precious souls!
I am adopted by God. I am HIs child. I deserved death, but because of Christ I have life. I have peace with God, the One who made the earth. I am declared just by God in the precious blood of Jesus, and no circumstance in life and death can ever change that?
Now to go live out that glorious gospel… Easier said than done, but I know that by the grace of God, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!
Thought #2 – Get outside! Go take your puppies (your furry friends and your human friends) and explore.
This past week, after church, we went to Garden of our God, and we took these two little fluffy friends out to take pictures, wonder at God’s glory in creation, and just spend some super sister time.
Get outside. Spend time with friends, wondering at God’s awesome creation!
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It was absolutely glorious!
‘O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands hath made.’
Thought #3 – I think I found the best hazelnut butter I’ve ever eaten. Bliss Nut Butters, which has shown up on the blog before and on my Instagram. It is seriously one of the BEST nut butters. It just stands out because it’s almost all crunchy with a really sweet edge of honey in it.
Thought #4 – ALL THINGS Pumpkin. Did you know yesterday was ‘National Pumpkin Day?’
Let’s put some of my fave pumpkin recipes that I’ve tried so far this year!
Pumpkin Breakfast Cake with Streusel
Paleo Pumpkin Spice Magic Cookies Bars
Paleo Pumpkin Caramel Pecan Bars
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
And this doesn’t even cover half of the ones I would love to try, but hey, I’m not going to stress out over it. I’ll share more when I bake them.
Thought #5 – Have you ever thought about how the world is so beautiful? If you just stop and look around, do you think, ‘Wow this couldn’t be random…’ I don’t set off a smoke bomb in my room and expect it to create beauty and order, but when I see my sister paint a BEAUTIFUL picture, I know that there was a painter, a creator.
How much more would you not see the hand of the awesome, living God and Creator in the world around you, the people, the carefully formed animals, and even the food you eat?
‘Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:
The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.’ (Psalm 146:5-9)
Food/Thought #6 – This Mee Eat Paleo Nut Butter. I’m not paleo, but this stuff is amazing. And Mee, the creator of it, is SUPER sweet. She even mixes it herself. Now that is awesome, isn’t it? Needless to say this one was a blend of 4 nut butters with a slight hint of crunchy coconut. :o) It’s good I do a blog, so I can share some of these instead of selfishly keep them all to myself.
Food/Thought #7 – Pumpkin Spice Cookie butter from Trader Joes. It’s been gone for a while now, but I picked up a jar a while ago. It topped many bowls of oatmeal, and now the jar is probably in recycling somewhere?
Last of all I’m challenging myself with these verses from Ephesians 4:1-2, ‘I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;’
Paul beseeched believers to walk worthy of the gospel, and my prayer this week, this month, and for the rest of my life is to walk WORTHY of the gospel, to be joyful, so joyful that nothing can squash it, and to love others more and more like Jesus loved me, as part of His bride first.
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‘But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.’ (1 Peter 2:9-12)
Do you ever think about just how glorious the gospel is?
What fall foods are you loving lately?
Do you have furry friends that you love to spend time with?
How do you spend time with friends during the fall?
Has anybody gone apple picking or pumpkin hunting this fall with friends?
The post Thinking Thursday: New Fall Foods, Fluffy Friends, and the Gospel appeared first on Beauty In Christ - The Book.