New Day

Listening to: Begin Again

http://youtu.be/cMPEd8m79Hw

I am an epic snoozer.  It annoys even the best of friends.  One college roommate was even frustrated enough to turn my alarm off during finals week, causing me to almost miss a test.  Sometimes a new day just feels so daunting, so fragile.  

Yawn.  I would rather hit the snooze, pull the covers over my head and tell Beast, despite the persistent clanging of my phone, it is not time to begin the day.  And then I repeat this.  4 times.  At least.

I know.  

ANNOYING.  

You suddenly empathize with my sweet college roommate don't you? Despite my hesitance to embrace the newness of each day I am in awe of God's provision.  It's like He knew we could only hold it together for 24 hours before He needed to give us a redo.  (In my snoozing I suppose I am simply delaying that redo.) 

But seriously have you ever stopped to contemplate the goodness and wisdom of a new day?  One hebrew word for new is chalaph, which means to change, pass, renew, alter or sprout again. One place that this version of "new" appears in the bible is in one of my all time favorite verses Isaiah 40:31,

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew [chalaph] their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

I know incredible.  I will certainly get on board with that kind of NEW DAY.  I just love that despite the stumbles and shortfalls of yesterday, a sunrise is a reminder that today is new.  Today we can choose to learn and to change.  That is what I focused on today.  That the Lord would bring an Isaiah 40:31 kind of change to my life and to my soul through this journey.  What I put into my body today was actually the easy part!

Breakfast:

Water with the juice of one half lemon

Jasmine green tea (yes I skipped coffee!!)

PWC:

1 c pineapple

1/2 cucumber

1 c kale

about 30 leave of wheat grass

Snack: 

1 c. Roasted Chickpeas: 

Drain one can organic low sodium chick peas and pat dry, toss in olive oil, lemon zest, cumin and pepper.  Bake at 350 for 40 min or until crunchy and brown.

Lunch:

Side salad with Thai Tofu from Lilly's pizza

Dinner:

Chicken tortilla soup with avocado:

Chop one sweet onion and 4 cloves of garlic.  Sautee until translucent.  (I'm going to make this sooooo easy for you!) Take a roasted chicken from whole foods and cut off half of the meat. Chop and add to onions.  Season with cumin, pepper, chili powder and cayenne pepper to taste.  Add the zest and juice of 1 lime.  Cover with a large box of organic low sodium chicken broth.  Bring to a boil.  

Serve over mixed greens and a half of a diced avocado.  Top with cilantro.  Throw in a lime wedge for color and class.  Who cares that you're eating alone!

So far so good.  Feeling cleaner.  And more willing to embrace the newness of tomorrow.