Praise for Today — This Heart of Mine
Have you heard the saying “Follow your heart?” Sounds like good advice, and sometimes it is. But what if your heart deceives you? It could happen, you know. Jeremiah recognized this when he wrote
“The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
I’ve been pondering times when my heart might deceive me and get in the way of my quest for good health. It happens when I crave things that aren’t good for me. How long has it been since you craved something that wasn’t good for you? And you knew it? For me, oh I would say, pretty much always. This is an example of my heart and mind in conflict. My emotions tell me one thing, but my head is telling me something else. My heart wins this battle when I rely on my own strength. My heart doesn’t always want what’s best for me and it can be pretty demanding.
One of my favorite Christian authors (EG White) wrote about this conflict and encourages us to rely on Jesus to fight these heart battles for us:
“But you must remember that your will is the spring of all your actions. This will, that forms so important a factor in the character of man, was at the Fall given into the control of Satan; and he has ever since been working in man to will and to do of his own pleasure, but to the utter ruin and misery of man. But the infinite sacrifice of God in giving Jesus, His beloved Son, to become a sacrifice for sin, enables Him to say, without violating one principle of His government: ‘Yield yourself up to Me; give Me that will; take it from the control of Satan, and I will take possession of it; then I can work in you to will and to do of My good pleasure.’ When He gives you the mind of Christ, your will becomes as His will, and your character is transformed to be like Christ’s character. Is it your purpose to do God’s will? Do you wish to obey the Scripture? ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.’ There is no such thing as following Christ unless you refuse to gratify inclination and determine to obey God. It is not your feelings, your emotions, that make you a child of God, but the doing of God’s will.”
I like this passage because it reminds me to give up my own will (my own desires, the things this heart of mine craves) to the will of God. It’s amazing to me how a simple prayer at the time I’m facing temptation helps “Lord, please help me not to follow my will but your will. Please make the desires of my heart what you desire for me.” It’s the moment of decision, deciding to give up my will to Him.
I need to remember I can’t always trust this heart of mine. I want to trust the Word of God. He does understand my heart, and He knows what’s best for me. Instead of following my heart, I want to follow Jesus’ heart. How about you?
Shaun Groves sings one of my favorite songs. It’s called Welcome Home, lyrics written by Chip Taylor. This song fits this blog post perfectly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCvD8n1YapA
Recipe for Today — Cheese-ish Sauce with Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup cooked butternut squash*
- 1/2 onion
- 1/2 cup soy sour cream (I like Tofutti brand)
- 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3 Tbsp tapioca flour
- 2 tsp salt (or salt to taste)
Steps
- In a dry blender, blend the cashews until powdery
- Add water and blend well with cashews
- Add remaining ingredients and blend until creamy
- Heat in saucepan to thicken, stirring constantly (only takes a few minutes)
- Pour over cooked pasta and add extras, like Rotel tomato or mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions; or use as a sauce with chips, etc.
*You can bake a butternut squash whole (no need to cut it in half). I put the whole butternut squash in the oven in a baking dish on foil (to make clean-up easy), until it is cooked soft and a knife goes into it easily, usually for about an hour at 350 degrees. Once cooled, cut it in half and scoop/scrape out the squash with a spoon. I sometimes do this a day ahead so I have the squash ready when I want to make this. The baked squash can also be saved in Ziploc bags and frozen for later use.
Miyoko Schinner’s smoky chipotle queso is the recipe I adapted; you might want to try her version too.
Get in the Ark 