{start a fire}

this world can be cold and bitter, feels like we're in the dead of winter

waiting on something better, but am I really gonna hide forever?

over and over again, I hear Your voice in my head

let Your light shine, let Your light shine for all to see

start a fire in my soul, fan the flame and make it grow

 so there’s no doubt or denying

let it burn so brightly

that everyone around can see

that it's You, that it's You who we need.

start a fire in me.

{lyrics from Unspokens song "start a fire"}

{purpose}

lately.. the word 'purpose' has been laid on my heart.

am I living my life with a purpose?

But not just what some may think is purposeful... What His purpose is for me.

romans 8:28 "and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."

what is my purpose in life?

I have a passion for nursing... so is that my calling?? this school year I was trying to get it all figured out. as far as; if I were to be a nurse, what schooling do I need for a medical career? and what high schooling do you need for that? and what schooling do I need to start now? and next year, and the year after that, and..... I started to overwhelm myself... what if this isn't even what His plan is for me??
my Mom pointed out my age and that I still have plenty of time to figure these things out. and I realized...

I don't need to have it all figured out. especially now. 

being 14, I have to wait. wait to know what He will call me to do with my life. but also; whether I am called to be a nurse, missionary, mom... I am first called to
shine His light. and that is the most beautiful calling of all. one that He gives to every single one of His children.

I'd say that's a purpose.

acts 13:47 "for so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light for the lost, that thou should be for salvation unto the ends of the earth."

so however I am living my life. I need to live out His word. His light. and His love with everything I do.

matthew 5:16 "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven"

I pray that, when I die, I will have lived a purposeful life. and left a legacy of His love.

Thank you for reading!
God bless,
♥Emmy

matthew 5:14 "ye are the light of the world. a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid."

{what keeps me busy}

I thought I'd share a main part of my life: my family.

Next to Christ, my family is definitely most important to me. 

{If you don't know my family, you can look at my page here}

I have been blessed with an amazing family! Two incredible examples that I get to call my parents & 12 brothers and sisters. 

I am so thankful for the bond I have with my siblings :) I find it very sad that it's normal for siblings not to have good friendships with each other & not to enjoy spending time together.

Don't get me wrong! My sisters and I don't always get along... we disagree and argue. But what I believe is important is that, keeping Christ at the center of our family & as we get older, we have learned to resolve our disagreements and forgive each other on our own. I think that's part of why some of my best friends are my sisters and why I am so close with my siblings♥

I couldn't imagine life without them! They are the friends I know I will ALWAYS have no matter what.

Growing up in a big family, you have to get used to sharing.. so even though we have to divide a lot of our things, the love and joy is always multiplied :)

So, basically watching my little siblings & spending time with my family is a big part of what keeps me busy :)

Thank you for reading! Blessings♥♥
♥Emmy

{a note from the author}
I would like to ask for prayer for my sweet baby brother, Timmy, as he is healing from medical issues. you may have noticed that I have lacked in posting this month, and part of the reason for that is because he has been in and out of the hospital the past few weeks so things have just gotten busier.

Prayers are appreciated♥

& if you ever have any prayer requests, please share them with me!! 

{greek yogurt blueberry granola bars}

 {gluten free!}

because what's better than granola bars??

granola bars with dried blueberries & vanilla greek yogurt coating!

first things first; I will forewarn you that (unless it's just me, and it very well could be) these will not turn out perfect. they are sticky and messy and I wouldn't put them on the front page of a cooking magazine, BUT they are soo delicious!!! :)

(recipe origin Half Baked Harvest) 

This was my second time making time making them and Aurora, the adorable little girl my sister, Aleks, babysits for "helped" me ;) Aleks snapped some pictures, so the credit to those pics go to her :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
• 1 1/2 cup rice krispies 
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup whole roasted almonds (I substituted with walnuts, really any nut would work)
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional.. because I made them be optional) 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (or 3/4 cup dried)

Greek Yogurt Coating

• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon gelatin 
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar 

_ _ _ _

How It's Done:

*Skip this step if you are using dried blueberries.* Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the blueberries on the baking sheet. Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until the berries burst and shrink. Remove from oven and let cool. 

Line an 9x13 square Pyrex pan with wax or parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the oats, rice krispies, coconut, almonds, chia seeds and salt. Mix together.









In a small microwave safe bowl combine the peanut butter and honey. Microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the mixture is hot and pourable. Add the vanilla and mix again.


Add the honey mixture to the dry oat mixture and mix until everything is moist and combined. Gently stir in the blueberries. 

Press the mixture into the prepared pan and then using the back of a measuring cup press the mixture into the pan until it is very tightly packed. Cover and place in freezer for 1 hour.

Cut into 9-12 bars and return to freezer.

Make the greek yogurt coating. Combine the water and vanilla in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over top and whisk with a fork until gelatin is evenly distributed. Set aside for about 5 minutes or until needed. It will set into a thick paste. 

In another small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, honey, and salt. Microwave on 15 second bursts, stirring in between each burst, until the yogurt is liquidy and very warm to the touch. Don't let it start to boil or the yogurt will curdle. I microwaved mine for 45 seconds total.

Whisk the gelatin into the warm yogurt mixture until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Scrape the yogurt mixture into a medium mixing bowl. Pour the powdered sugar on top. Use a mixer or whisk until the yogurt and powdered sugar combine into a thick, but pourable, coating.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper or silpat. Working with one bar at a time, dip the bottom of the bar into the yogurt and allow and excess to drip off. Flip the bars over so the yogurt coated side faces up and place on the papered baking sheet. They will be very sticky. Repeat with remaining bars. Let the bars sit, uncovered, until dry to the touch, about 4 hours or overnight (I left mine overnight).

*Next step is optional. In my opinion the bars were sweet enough with just the bottom of the bar coated and I didn't want to wait any longer ;)* Cover the remaining yogurt coating and save for later. Once the bars are completely dry, flip them over so the yogurt coated side is now facing down. Transfer the remaining yogurt coating to a sandwich size ziplock bag and snip a small hole in the corner. Drizzle the remaining coating over the bars and allow the bars to sit at least 2 hours or overnight.

Once bars are completely dry, store in an airtight container at room temperature. (I saran wrapped mine) 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

She was soo adorable!! :)

~~~~~~~

**Note: When making the coating; you need to decide how runny/thick you want it. The first time I made them (the right picture below) I used 2 cups of powdered sugar, which made it  a lot thicker (and sweeter). It being thicker was a little harder to work with. So the second time (left picture) I only used about 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and, as you can see, made it a lot runnier(that picture was taken before they dried so they look even runnier) which they was fine not being as thick, it just soaked into the bars more.

It really doesn't make a big difference taste wise, just looks and texture.

~~~~~~~

So, there you go!! They are a little time consuming but totally worth it! 
Please let me know how it goes if you try them out! :)

God bless!!

♥Emmy

{He is with you. that is enough.}

before I begin, I just want to say that; everything I post about my beliefs, are my beliefs. from my point of view. how I am learning to see things.

I am still learning about our incredible God.  learning from amazing examples in my life {two of which, being my wonderful parents} & now.. learning on my own. building my relationship with Christ.

______

several months ago.. 

I was at a place in my life where I was worried... or scared even. I was scared that if someone questioned me on my faith.. I wouldn't know how to defend it. I wouldn't have the right knowledge & words to stand against any accusations.

So... in order to gain such knowledge, I had to read my bible more. study it. learn everything I needed to know & memorize it... right??

With this perspective, I wasn't reading the bible in peace. I would read it because I felt obligated & pressured by myself. which made me read it less. & when I would read my bible, I would be focusing on building up my knowledge, rather than building my relationship with Christ.

Then I talked to my Dad about it, I told him I was worried about being capable of defending my faith because I didn't think I knew enough about the bible & therfore; I felt like I should be reading my bible more than I was.
He told me that; if I were ever in that situation, that God would give me the words to say. & also that I should be reading my bible when I am feeling lead to. not when I am feeling pressured to. because when I am pressuring myself, it isn't the spirit.

Isn't it crazy how satan can use the bible to try and separate us from God??

After that realization... I read the bible more often than I did when I felt obligated to. but more importantly, I read to grow closer to Christ. with a new understanding and peace.

Back to the point of the post; Now I don't have that worry.. the worry that I won't be able to find the words to say when I need to say them.

I was reading through Matthew  recently & I think these two verses say it perfectly...

Matthew 10:19-20

19 But when they deliver you, do now worry
about how or what you shall speak, at that
time it shall be given to you what to speak.
20For it will not be you speaking, but the
Spirit of your Father speaking throuh you.

Do not worry!! If God brings you to that situation in which you have to defend your faith, 

He will bring you through it. 

God bless! & thank you for taking the time to read :)

❤️Emmy

{colors of the wind}

it's just a game. it's just football. it's not the end of the world. there's always next year. yes, it meant the superbowl. but it's just a game.

{okay, I'm done now. Back to blogging}

____________________

the greatest artist of all time.

His creation doesn't cost a fortune...

but is priceless.

& His paintings do not hang in museums...

but are displayed across the sky. 

____________________

thank you for reading :)

God bless!!

♥Emmy

{pictures taken a few weeks ago}

{first post}

what an original name for a post. I know.

Hello :) my name is Emmelia, but I go by Emmy.

This blog will be filled with some photography, a recipe here & there, an occasional book review, but mostly; devotions & my thoughts on things.

I have blogged in the past, with a similar blog, but that slowly faded away the more I neglected posting on it. 

But I remember always feeling obligated to be posting, sharing & keeping my blog up to date & that really only made me stress every time I thought about it. How I should have been doing more, wasn't doing enough & was failing in the blogging world. I realize now how that was just satan giving me guilt so I didn't even want to share my story & share what Christ has done for me. share His love. 

so.. I am coming back, with a new perspective on blogging.

I will post as frequently as possible, but only when I am feeling lead to share what God has laid on my heart ♥

You can go to the about me page & learn a little more about myself :)

God bless! & thank you for reading.

♥Emmy