Thursday, February 27, 2014

Why We Need Spring

Even winter, in its breathtaking beauty must come to an end.  Don't be surprised to hear me say it.  Just because it's my favorite season does not mean I want it to last all year.  Each one needs to end to make room for the next one.  Something I love about living in New York State is that we get to enjoy all four seasons.  Maybe you're like me, eager for the next one when it arrives (or shortly before).

In the winter, the earth kind of dies.  The trees are bare, the grass is brown, there is not much color or lush vegetation to be enjoyed (except snow covered pine trees).  It's a time of dormancy for us too.  We close ourselves off in our houses and take a break, hibernate sort of.  It is cozy and romantic for awhile, but then we want Spring. (I notice from facebook that many of my friends have arrived at this point and they want it NOW!)  We long to get outside.  We can't wait for the vibrant colors to return.  We are itching to feel the warm sun on our skin.  We want new.
In my mind, it is ridiculous to not parallel the anticipation of Spring with the simultaneous arrival and hope of Easter.  We imagine girls in pastel dresses, birds chirping, chicks breaking free from their eggs and flowers blooming everywhere.  New life.  
 
The older I get the more Easter is battling with Christmas for first place in my holiday loving heart.  We are celebrating the very foundation of our faith!  We reacquaint ourselves with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Savior and Messiah of the world.  Jesus rose from the dead...much as we long for Spring to rise from the dead of Winter.

I think this deserves much more of our attention than just one Sunday morning and possibly a Friday night.  One of my favorite authors, Margaret Feinberg gets it too.  I couldn't put it any better than she does, 

 "Over the last few years, I’ve come to believe that the 40 days leading up to Easter can be some of the most life-giving, perspective-changing, hope-filled days of the entire year.  It is a time set apart for prayer, repentance, and self-denial. This is a time designed to stir your hunger for God and lean in to hear His voice more clearly. This is a season of both repentance and the renewal of faith."

I've written posts the past few years about the whys and hows of why I believe these 40 days need to be more emphasized in the Christian world.  It's an intentional effort to enhance spiritual growth/discipline and Easter worship. (Oh how I love the word intentional.) If you are interested you can find and read them here and also here

As I grow in my understanding of and annually participate in this holiday season, I (and we as a family) have engaged in fasting, reading a portion of the Bible intensely, memorizing Scripture or focusing on prayer. All have radically changed and excited me.  I love a time to become more acutely aware of and lean in to hear God's voice which stimulates my hunger for Him.

So this year I'm planning to read all four Gospels and I wondered if you'd like to join me.  Imagine filling your mind with the earthly life of Jesus.  It will be wonderful, fun, sad, emotional, triumphant and glorious (!) but most of all deep and meaningful.  And we will give Him the honor He is due for making a way for us.  The story - the history - will come alive and just in time.  I guarantee it will make your Easter Sunday worship more meaningful than ever. 

There are 80 chapters total, so it only requires reading two chapters per day. We will start next Wednesday, March 5. (If you look through your calendar you'll note that's about 46 days - you get Sundays off).

It's often more enjoyable in a group. Just comment on facebook or send me a private message if you're in. I so hope you do.  

Oh and while you are busy delighting in the Word, Spring will arrive and you'll find yourself living in the new and maybe you'll be new too.

"Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?"*
*Isa. 43:18

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

The Kids Are On To Us

So the weekend is over and the boys have gone back to school.  No worries.  I'm not sad this time.  I promise I won't be sniveling or whining in this post.

You probably know Ben was in town with the Word of Life Bible Institute basketball team to play in a tournament at Davis College.  As it turns out, Drew does know what's good for him because he did in fact skip two days of classes and came home as well.  I was one happy mama.  I mean, look at those faces.
Three of Ben's teammates also stayed with us, while the rest of the team and coaches lodged with some generous, wonderful, fun friends of ours.  You know who you are and that we think you're awesome. Of course, this means there was plenty of food in the house and even some cookies for the fans.

The WOLBI guys won one game and lost two, and we watched many more.  It was fun to watch Ben play.  He had some really good moments.  One of my favorites was the 3-point contest his coach signed him up for.  Ben is not really a 3's shooter, although whenever he makes one and we congratulate him, he always retorts, 'I can shoot 3's you know".  Oops.

During the contest two shooters competed at the same time, one at each basket.  Each had one minute to get in as many as they can.  The funny part is that when they finally got to Ben, they discovered they had an uneven number which would make him the last shooter of the night.  It also meant that every eye in the gym was on Ben. Many cheered him by name.  We totally cracked us up as that is not his gig.  Any of it.  He was a good sport but sadly did not win the contest.

Much to my surprise, we got a little time for all of us to spend together outside of the gym and without the team.  We learned something very interesting that had not yet been realized.  Our kids are figuring us out. It went like this. The last night, I made a simple remark to Ally about her ipod. Out of nowhere, Drew speaks up.

"Ally, did you notice how mom gives her commands in the form of a suggestion?  Like just then when she said, 'Ally, I think you've been on that thing long enough for today'?  What she really means is, 'Get off the ipod....now!'"

The kids fall down laughing. I stare down the blonde kid.

A few minutes later I innocently made another....let's call it.....observation.  The firstborn is on a roll and doesn't miss a beat.  "See?  She did it again.  Mom comes in the room and says, 'That tv is kind of loud, isn't it?', when she really means, 'TURN THAT TV DOWN RIGHT NOW.'"

Now Scott is laughing. I do what all mature mothers do, I ignore all of them.  Then the one with the smile dares say in is teasing voice, "What's the matter, Mom, we got your number?"  I don't know where he gets this from.

Soon after, we heeded the coach's instruction and sent the guys to bed at a decent hour.  What happened next couldn't have been scripted.  All three of our kids congregated in our room (like in younger days - sniff sniff).  They were all over the bed, between Scott and me or right next to it.  They amused themselves by making fun of each other, then they made fun of Scott, which was hilarious, and then they made fun of me.  Not so funny.  Yet all five of us were cracking up, revisiting old family jokes and all sorts of familiarity.
It was like time stopped.  I was so fully present and totally happy.  I was whispering my thanks to God for this family and for this moment.  I know it was a gift from Him - a bright spot in a long, rather cloudy winter...figuratively speaking.  Sometimes when we are feeling poor, God shows us in living color how rich we really are.

I so wish I had a picture of all their faces and placement around the room but some things need to be appreciated without interruption, unphotographed.  When Drew, Ben and Ally eventually said goodnight and left us, I took Scott's hand under the covers and croaked, "THAT was the highlight of the weekend."  He squeezed.

You see, our status quo is changing in a few months when the five will become six.  It's a change we look forward to.  Because of that, I know these moments of just the original Scott Burtis's, this way, are drawing to a close.  I cherish each one.

Even if they have figured out (one of) our parental persuasion techniques. Hey, at least it took 22 years.  (As far as I know.)  And here I thought they weren't paying attention.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Week (or 2) At A Glance

Remember me?  Once again I've not been here too consistently.  This time it's because of what I feared two months ago.  My laptop died.  Fried more like it.  You can imagine the stress as I waited to see if all my pictures from the last 5-6 years (including grad party slideshows), documents and the most prized microsoft excel spreadsheet that I made all by myself over many hours that contained addresses for Drew's wedding invitation list could be recovered.  Aaaaagggghhhhh! It wasn't pretty.

I'm thankful to report that "they" were able to retrieve all of it - major answer to prayer - so this is now my new best friend.



There you have it, my whole life (minus people) on a 2 inch piece of plastic.  Scary.





I'm also thankful for my thoughtful husband who has agreed to let me borrow his ancient super slow-mo laptop.  All I have to do is tolerate this screensaver. And how sllllllloooooooowwwwww it is.







In an effort to catch up, below you will find my life at a glance these past two or so weeks through the pics I cleaned off my phone.  Warning - be ready to need a nap after you finish.  Yes, it's that riveting.
Let's start here.  Ally's school women's chorus had the great thrill of singing the national anthem at a Binghamton University men's basketball game.  Worried about arriving late, she rushed us out of the house so quickly that one of us forgot to put shoes on.  I'm not mentioning any names.

Always on the lookout for a craft idea that is quick and simple, I made these.  I'm on a quest to clean out a lot of yarn baggage I've been carrying around and this was perfect.  I've never really had many decorations for Valentine's Day.  Now I have this.
 Not too bad, huh?

Speaking of riveting, I moved the furniture around in the living room to take advantage of our big windows on these cold days.  This is where you can find me most of the time on sunny days.  Nice and warm.
We've been getting lots of glorious winter weather lately.  This is our third winter living in Binghamton and to be honest the first two were a bit disappointing, quite lacking in the snow department.  I dare say this year has more than made up for it.  I love it.  In an attempt to share my delight, I've even posted a few pics on facebook that much to my surprise have drawn criticism.  Like taking pictures from the window of my living room isn't as "participating" as actually going out to shovel. 
is this not the cutest little marshmallow cupcake you've ever seen?
I believe the one who stays inside has a special ministry.  This is what I was doing for them.  So there!
Can I get a little respect for that?

I've made some yummy soups as well.  Stay tuned for recipes.

One of the snowstorm days produced a winter advisory/state of emergency warning.  Kind of like stay off the roads unless it is an emergency.  Well, we had an emergency that day.  It was Drew's 22nd birthday, my beloved firstborn.  You see, I believe kids should be with their parents on birthdays.  The tragedy is that once they go to college this isn't necessarily likely.  Because of this, we have not been with Drew on his birthday for 3 years.  Count 'em, 3!  Not cool.  This would be the first time since he turned 18 that we could see that face we love (since he's only an hour away now), so making the trip was non-negotiable.  And it was an hour south too.  Except the snow was coming from the south.  Oh well, don't worry, we waited until the emergency travel ban was lifted (about 10 minutes) and it stopped snowing (mostly) and then we hit the road.
 I mean, look at that kid's smile.  Worth every white knuckle mile.  Nah, it wasn't that bad.  Scott is a great winter driver.

Would have driven much farther to be able to do this.  Doesn't matter if it's the 2nd or 22nd birthday - each one matters to me.

***On another day, a favorite conversation that I finally have permission to share with you went something like this.  I promised not to mention the other party's name.

Me: "What time do you have to be at your event?"
??:  "10:00"
Me (knowing it didn't start until much later): "Don't you think that's a little premature?"
??:  "No, I don't think it's premature, I thought it was a very mature decision to be there early."
Me: "Oh, I see......alrighty then. Let's go."

Two of us laughed for hours.  One didn't think it was that funny.

This morning I woke up early after having spent a good portion of the day in bed yesterday (might have been something I ate).  I treated myself to a golden french toast k-cup.  Did I ever mention that a very good friend found them on sale shortly after Christmas?  I scarfed up four boxes to be rationed through the year.  Today was one of those days.  It was delicious and smelled so fantastic. I suspect there might have been an extra dose of caffeine too, because I soon found myself a little, how shall I say, silly.  Yeah, that's about right.

I got an idea to send the boys a picture text, "Good morning!  Just wanted to say HI!".  I mean what college boy doesn't want to see a picture of his mother first thing on Sunday morning?  So Scott snapped this before I was ready and refused to take another (because he thought the whole thing was dumb) even after we saw this ridiculous expression.  He said it suited my mood. 
The responses:
BEN - "Haha!  Well, that was random."
DREW - "Hahaha!  HI!"

I asked them if it made them laugh, smile or just shake their head.  Between the two of them, I got all three.  Success.

As for the coming week, I have just one thing on my mind.  Thursday-Saturday.  When this kid comes home to do this at Davis College three times. Don't forget we haven't seen him since Jan 2 and may not again until June.
And if his brother knows what's good for him, he will follow his mother's instruction to skip class Friday and come home too. 

I've got a feeling it's going to be a good week.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Raising A Teenage Girl

Most of you know we are in the final stages of raising our family (perhaps I've whined about it just a bit).  I know, I know, parenting continues even when they are in college and as they enter adulthood but I'm talking about the day to day, raising of our kids while they still live with us 24/7.  We're down to 17 months (but who's counting?).

Now that the boys have flown out of the comfy cozy safe nest we tried to create for them, I know for a fact that the parent/child relationship changes once they move out.  Still good, but definitely different and there's no turning back time.

That said, our little girl, almost 17-year-old Ally, is in an interesting position.  She is privileged to be on the receiving end of our "oh no we only have one left we have to teach her everything we learned from the mistakes we made with the boys or forgot to teach them and everything else we can think of before she graduates" type of parenting.  Every day.  Lucky girl.

Raising a teenage girl is so vastly different from raising a boy (I can only speak to our experience here).  Here's a quick review if you're just tuning in to the Burtis family saga.  Our boys were and still are parent pleasers.  Raising them was a little thing I like to call easy. 
Let's hear it for matching outfits!
When we laid down a restriction or rule and warned them of possible dangers or consequences, they accepted it and adjusted their lives accordingly.  If we said no, they complied.  If we said yes, they appreciated it.  When we asked them to do something, they did it.  That is, until their senior years when they adopted the phrase, "I do what I want".  (Of course, this was just to get a reaction - they always did whatever we asked soon after.)  When I told them "girls are bad" they mostly avoided them - at least through high school, which works for me.  They are affectionate and love their mother.  Mama's boys?  Maybe.  But what's wrong with that?!

Don't let that cuteness fool you. 





Then our dream for a girl came true. Oh glory - dresses, pink and accessories!  Not to mention drama. It's been our eyewitness account that they go hand in hand.  Our much wanted after two boys daughter is what the professionals call strong willed.  If we said no, she argued.  If we said yes, she was entitled. If we said up, she said down.  Nothing was easy.  Every day a conflict.  She pushed all our buttons like it was her job.  She never passed up an opportunity.  She was the kid we had to wrestle to the ground and shame with our words to get her to apologize for an offense.  And even then there was no remorse (until she was about 12 when she finally grasped the concept of restoring relationship with us when she broke it).  Hallelujah!

The day my eyes were opened to the ugly fact that my very own daughter was the person who brought out the worst in me was not my finest hour, a hard pill to swallow. Prayer was my constant companion. Mercy, I didn't know which one of us was going to survive.  I'm happy to report we both did and we live in harmony now....most of the time. ;)

Now that we've gotten past that intense conflict phase (thanks be to God), we have so much fun.  She has become an absolute pleasure. She brings a lot of laughter, joy and energy to our pared down household.  You should have dinner here sometime.  She talks nonstop about her day. Totally animated. No one can get a word in.  It's a riot!  And so different from the boys who were also fun, but more reserved and shared the good stuff often only when you pried it out of them.  Food works great for this.

Back to Ally.  We are now also able to conduct mature conversations.  It's refreshing and we give God all the credit for continuing "the work He started in her".* As I try to navigate her from teenager to a well-equipped young adult woman, I am fully aware that the American pop culture we live in does not aid me at all (as a Christ follower) in this endeavor.

During our early years of marriage, Scott was a youth pastor.  I distinctly remember this book in his library.
I don't recall reading it, but I certainly understand the concepts after 22 years of childrearing. (Oh my word, how is that possible?)  For sure, today's teenagers are growing up too fast, too soon.  It's scary to watch it happen both near in our circle of friends and family and far as we witness this through all sorts of media.

From time to time, I am given the awesome privilege to speak to young mothers, especially at MOPS groups (go MOPS!).  Often they ask me to address raising teenagers.  Too old too soon is always on my mind.  So few parents seem to be applying the brakes.

I usually share my three go-to parenting verses that have helped and guided us.  Here's one.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,  
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - 
His good, pleasing and perfect will."  Romans 12:2

I then add what my favorite Bible teacher, Beth Moore, once said, "If you aren't daily fighting the culture as a parent, for your family, then you've already been assimilated into it."  That scared me way back then and continues to.

Scott and I have been very choosy (some call it overly strict) regarding how much influence we would allow Hollywood and its increasingly anti-Christian values message to have in our homes and what we were trying to build into our kids.  The words 'age appropriate' had and still have significant impact in our decisions regarding what we let them watch and/or when.  Hollywood's PG-13 rating isn't even close to helping us "set before my eyes no unclean thing."**

We vetoed many a Disney "hit show" and almost never allowed romantic comedy/drama movies.  It was important to us to prevent them from being influenced by relationships that were less than godly where casual sex (and other sinful behaviors) is accepted and expected as the norm.  We wanted godly, committed, Biblical relationships to be their norm.  So we did our best to surround them with those examples.

That said, the other night Ally and I were having a girls night (at home).  Since she is nearly 17, I suggested we watch a popular chick flick she has requested many times since it came out quite a few years ago now.  This is one that I actually liked but because of the sex scenes refused to approve for my kids.  She's often told me in regard to this and many other Burtis-banned movies that all her friends have seen it. (Bonus advice - this is never a reason to say yes.)  Sadly, they've watched many of these several years ago - not at age 17.

She jumped at the chance and threw it in the DVD player before I changed my mind.  She's no dummy.  Then sat real close to me. I love that.  She asked some questions as we watched and I fast forwarded through the unnecessary scenes.  When we got to the end, we both were a little emotional - a tear-jerker for sure. 

She said, "I had no idea it was about all that."
Me:  "What did your friends tell you it was about?"
She:  "All they talked about is the sex scenes and how hot the guy is. It's about so much more."
Me:  "Interesting when you take the junk out, you find a meaningful story with some good lessons about committment and more."
She:  "For reals, Mom. Why did they have to ruin it with the sex?"

Well, that is the question, isn't it?  You can imagine I took advantage of the open door and we tackled these delicate, important issues.  I wonder what her impression of the movie would have been had I not fast forwarded and been there to talk it over?

I think I've mentioned that Scott and I love to watch Andy Stanley's sermons online every week.  He admitted that he pays his kids to do things like listen to a series of messages or read books of his choosing.  If they do it and write a summary or take notes, he gives them cash.  Well, if he can do it we can.  We have never been above bribery.

Naturally the boys will do it for free.  But we're not talking about the boys here.  Right now Andy is teaching about wisdom.  It's directed toward young adults. I tell you, I would have many fewer regrets if I had been exposed to this information when I was 14,15,16,17,18,19.

So, after the movie when the time was ripe, I asked Ally if she would watch one in particular and take notes.  I promised to buy her a giant 100% sugar pretend coffee-flavored (more like chocolate) drink at Dunkin' Donuts that she's always begging for.

 Her god is her stomach.  This is the result. Amazingly good stuff.  In her own handwriting.  Worth every penny.  And calorie.

I say it all the time - parenting is hard work.  But since when is hard a bad thing or ok to be indifferent about?  It's a great and  important responsibility to pass down to the next generation God's faithfulness and His expectations for us according to His Word.  One that shouldn't be taken lightly.  It takes time. It takes tenacity because a lesson is rarely 'gotten' on the first try.  It takes resisting the desire to be the cool parent and be your kids' friend in these critical worldview-forming years.  It takes the resolve to not be like everyone else.


As we attempt to train our kids to make their own choices regarding entertainment because we won't always be their built-in monitoring system, our motivation is here:

"Turn my eyes away from every worthless thing; preserve my life according to your Word."  Psalm 119:37

And

"Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.  'Everything is permissible for me' - but I will not be mastered by anything."  1 Cor. 6:12

One thing Scott and I have always agreed on is that it is our responsibility (certainly not the world's) to teach our children what we know about God and how to live skillfully as the Proverbs puts it.  Vicki Courtney once said, "Since we have forfeited our responsibility in training up a child according to God's Word, the world has marched into the church, grabbed our girls by the hand and are showing them how to do it their way."  I don't know about you, but that makes me MAD!

We need to be armed and ready, relentlessly guarding - a few steps ahead of them in our parenting plan, intentional.   God always gives us the words and instruction (and endurance) we need when we are filled and led by His Spirit, seeking wisdom from His Word and those who are a little bit further down the road than us, and plugged into our kids' lives.

It's available to all of us.  Never too late.  Isn't that wonderful?  Let's raise us up a godly generation.

*Phil. 1:6
**Psalm 101:3
Link to Andy Stanley's current message series:  Ask It  I can't recommend this highly enough.

PS - the above mentioned movie was a book first.  The book is always better.  Just had to say it.  

Ministry of Food Monday - Healthy Choices Edition

Sheesh what happened to MOFM?  I haven't posted anything since the week of Thanksgiving. Talk about a slacker. Someone must have taken a long winter's nap. So sorry to those of you who might enjoy this.

Today I'm going to highlight my food processor.  I've been giving it quite a workout lately as I have reinstated "January eating".  You know what this is, don't you?  It's moving from delicious, fattening, high sugar & carbs, no-boundaries eating in December to veggies and water for the New Year. More or less. Oh, you too?  Well then you may enjoy what I have for you.

Let's start with hummus.  Jam packed with good nutrients and in my opinion, a no-brainer exchange for fatty dips. Scott even likes to make this when he's bored in the kitchen. He throws in all kind of extras that we just happen to have in the fridge or pantry. And it's tasty everytime.

Well, except for the time he accidentally added 1 TABLESPOON of salt instead of a teaspoon. For the record, even though we proceeded to triple the rest of the recipe. It could not be saved.

The cool thing about making your own hummus is that if you keep a can of chick peas and tahini stocked, you likely will always have the rest of the ingredients on hand, so you can whip it up in no time.

What's tahini you ask?  It's a sesame seed paste, sometimes tricky to find at the store. Just ask. And even though it may seem pricey, you will get many batches out of it. Hummus is really cheap to make, much more economical than buying it premade.

Hummus

1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 c. tahini
1/4 c. water
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice (or from the bottle)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. fresh parsley, packed (I also use dried or fresh cilantro)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cumin

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Process until mixture is a smooth paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times.  Refrigerate or serve immediately with veggies or chips (baked).  See how easy?


Ta da!


As with most of my recipes, I encourage you to play with it. Add different ingredients to make it your own. I often add roasted red peppers, artichokes, olives are terrific, cucumbers, black beans, whatever you like.  Have fun!


Great to bring to a party to make sure you can stick to your eating plan.




It takes a little pre-preparation in order to make some food items that are loaded with alternative ingredients to sugar and butter/oils. Don't be put off by the extra work. It doesn't take that long. Just have a family member come behind you and do the dirty dishes. Cooking is always more enjoyable when this happens.

Almond Butter - a substitute for butter and peanut butter.
Place unsalted almonds in food processor.  Blend until processed.  Add a little olive oil if necessary to hold it together. That's it! Also works with cashews.

Date Honey

1 c. pitted dates (about 6-8) - without sugar
1 c. water
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pour dates and water into a small saucepan, making sure dates are completely covered (you can add more water if needed).  Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 45-60 minutes or until dates are very soft and broken down.  Remove from heat, and allow to cool slightly for about 15 minutes. Pour mixture into blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Sprinkle in cinnamon and stir well. Store in fridge.

What did I use this and the almond butter for?  Both granola and oatmeal raisin cookies.  Recipes below.

I also made my own oat flour. Get ready, this will blow your mind.

Place old-fashioned oats in food processor. Grind until they are a fine flour. Done. I know, right?

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
(sorry no pic - we ate them up too quickly)

1 c. old fashioned rolled oats
1 c. almond flour or oat flour (see above for complicated procedure)
1 c. creamy cashew butter, almond butter (see above) or peanut butter
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/3 c. date honey (see above)
1/2 c. raisins
2 TBSP chopped walnuts
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix oats, flour, butter, applesauce and date honey in a large bowl until well combined. Add raisins, walnuts and cinnamon. Stir well.

Drop by spoonfuls, two inches apart, on an 11x17 in. baking sheet. Flatten and shape into circles.  Bake 10-12 min.

At first, I described these as the no flour, no sugar, no taste cookies but it turns out they grow on you. Scott and I both liked them. And as always, you can play with it. Add more cinnamon or nutmeg, different nuts, use almond butter once and peanut butter next time. You can see how healthy they are. A good choice for January eating!

Gimme More Granola

1/4 c. dried plums (prunes) or pitted dates
1/4 c. water
1 c. old-fashioned oats
2 TBSP unsweetened apple (or any) juice
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. raisins
2 TBSP chopped almonds
2 TBSP chopped walnuts
2 TBSP raw sunflower seeds (pumpkin seeds also good)
2 TBSP unsweetened shredded coconut (I omit this because I hate coconut)

Preheat oven to 350. In a small saucepan, add plums and water.  Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until plums are softened.  Transfer to a food processor or blender and process until mixture is a thick paste, about 30 seconds.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Spread mixture into an even layer on an 11x17 baking sheet lined with parchment paper or rub lightly with olive oil. Bake 5 minutes, stir and bake another 5 minutes, or until lightly browned (this may take longer than 10 min). Let cool on pan. Granola will become crispy as it cools.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2 weeks or up to 1 month in the refrigerator. I usually double this.

I gave away granola in cute canning jars at Christmas time.  A good gift!

Just a few FYIs:

When I make things like those oatmeal cookies or granola, I always try to sneak in more good stuff because you simply don't notice. So I add flaxseed, wheat germ, oat bran and wheat bran. I figure, why not?

All these recipes came from The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast by Kristen Feola

Enjoy and let me know if you try them and how it turns out.