There has been numerous uptakes in creative hobbies during the pandemic. Everything from beads to breads graced the tables of those weathering the pandemic storm. Relaxing and creating something new.

I read a blog post with a you tube link to a avid paint by number painter claiming adult paint by numbers are the way to go, and look Just as beautiful as any art print – a perfect hobby. Obviously they were biased but I thought I would give it a shot if it worked I would use the painting as a surprise gift for my husband.

So this has become my new quiet worship time. I sit with worship music on and paint this…one number at a time. Much the same, as the directions often given for life ….but we seldom do it – one step at a time. The directions for the painting stated to pick an area and work from darkest colours to light. From black to white essentially. It took so long to lay down all the darkest colours in the area I was working on. It almost became depressing and disheartening, as it just looked like dark blobs on the white page. Very stark contrasts … Once I began to add the colour It was eye opening watching the blobs of black, grey and murky greens turn into a beautiful picture. When I would take a step back I began to see details that were not there before. It was motivating to see it take shape.

I think sometimes we focus too much on how long the dark patches in our lives are taking, it seems like they will never amount to anything. They are disheartening and makes us unmotivated to continue – but we cannot see the the sprinkling of colour God is adding along the way…and full picture God is presenting us with. Sometimes we need to step back, breath and see the big picture, see the details and beauty.

After all like Marcus Aurelius said “The soul become dyed the colour of its thoughts”….what colour are your thoughts ….

Raw berry parfait – orig posted to vegan insanity

This is a great little granola like parfait for those craving a nice little dessert or sweet breakfast- originally it did have some 1 tbs. maple to the cream to sweeten it but to make it Daniel fast friendly we omitted it. Feel free to add it back in, if your fasting. Enjoy!

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1 cup raw walnuts
• ¼ cup chia seeds
• ¼ cup flax seeds
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

Cashew Cream

• 1 cup raw cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours)
• ⅓ cup water
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt

Fruit

• Any fruit you’d like (I used raspberries & blueberries)

INSTRUCTIONSNuts/Seeds

1. Put all seeds and nuts into a food processor and process for a few seconds. Don’t process too much or everything will turn into a flour, which is not what you want. You still want some big chunks.

Cashew Cream

1. Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth (add a bit more water if you want to thin it out some more).

Putting it all together

1. Add a layer of berries, then nuts/seeds, then cashew cream, then more nuts, then a ton of fruit on top.