Today I am starting a new series that not only involves the Word of God, but some deliciousness added in….
Just recently my mom sent me a house-warming gift.  A Ninja!  I have been wanting a decent blender of sorts and this fits the bill.  Not only is it high quality, and its pink!

As soon as I cracked open the box and took the recipe booklet out, my oldest daughter wrote down her three favorite smoothies and a grocery list.  I guess I knew what was for breakfast for the rest of the week.

I made an island inspired recipe but tweaked it to my liking.  I poured my oldest a glass and put the left overs in a glass for me.  I stared at it for a bit and thought of my mom.  I thanked God for her and sent her a picture of the morning treat sitting on my dining room table.

I drank it as I finished my Bible study for the day.  I was finishing day three of studying 1 John.  So far it has been a wonderful study, but my smoothie got me thinking about something entirely different.

I posted the picture of my smoothie and told all of Facebook about this great gift and great breakfast.  People asked for ingredients and I thought, hmm, what a great witnessing tool for a little Fruit of the Spirit.  God wants us to spread His Word, and what better way to preach it than through the stomach.  Ingest it.  Delight in its sweetness.  Let it nourish the body.

Today’s fruit is the mango.  Mangoes grow mostly in sub-tropical climates.  When we lived in Hawaii we had a very large mango tree in our backyard.  At peak season I would have neighbors, locals and even security knocking on my door asking if they could take their cherry pickers out back and snag a dozen or two.  Since I wasn’t the biggest fan, even less so of the random midnight thud of them falling on the neighbor’s metal shed, I told them to take as many as they liked.

Several years later I find that I still can’t just bite into a mango, but when mixed with other like fruits and a liquid of choice, they are “seasoned” to perfection.  I may never have a love for mango, but I do love that God gave us a pallet for all sorts of delights including indulgence through fruit combinations.  Love…

Love.

“But the fruit of the spirit is love…” Galatians 5: 22

Love is a tricky subject these days.  What is love?  Without becoming political, let’s stick to Jesus.  Jesus was born from God’s love for the World.  Jesus lived to bring love to sinners, the Jews and Gentiles.  Jesus died for the ultimate love…. absorbing the sin of the World so that all we need to do is confess our sins and believe that He is LORD.  Love…

How can we show this same love?  Easy.  Treat others the way we would like to be treated even if they don’t treat us the very same.  Love on people by showing grace.  Love by good deeds.  But, most importantly, and the only finality, love because we believe.

Do you love smoothies?  I do.  I love them even more now that I can make some awesome ones in my own kitchen.

Today’s smoothie has some mango.  I will give you my version of the recipe, but please tweak it to your liking.

One whole banana (I used a pretty ripe one)
Half a can of cubed pineapple
Half to 3/4 can of mango
A cup of fresh strawberries
Cup of coconut water
A few ice cubes to make the smoothie colder

 

Blend until smooth…. enjoy.  While sipping on this treat, look up all of the verses that you can find that talks about the love of Christ.

John 3:16  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.