Pep in Your Step!

Life is meant to be lived, enjoyed, and experienced - not merely endured. So, today I bring you two things to  escalate the fulfillment and kick up the pep in your step!

First, Read THIS:

"My wife, Harriet, and I love riding our bicycles. It is wonderful to get out and enjoy the beauties of nature. We have certain routes we like to bike, but we don’t pay too much attention to how far we go or how fast we travel in comparison with other riders.

However, occasionally I think we should be a bit more competitive. I even think we could get a better time or ride at a higher speed if only we pushed ourselves a little more. And then sometimes I even make the big mistake of mentioning this idea to my wonderful wife.

Her typical reaction to my suggestions of this nature is always very kind, very clear, and very direct. She smiles and says, “Dieter, it’s not a race; it’s a journey. Enjoy the moment.”

How right she is!

Sometimes in life we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to find joy in the journey. I don’t go cycling with my wife because I’m excited about finishing. I go because the experience of being with her is sweet and enjoyable.

Doesn’t it seem foolish to spoil sweet and joyful experiences because we are constantly anticipating the moment when they will end?

Do we listen to beautiful music waiting for the final note to fade before we allow ourselves to truly enjoy it? No. We listen and connect to the variations of melody, rhythm, and harmony throughout the composition.

Do we say our prayers with only the “amen” or the end in mind? Of course not. We pray to be close to our Heavenly Father, to receive His Spirit and feel His love.

We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. “Rejoice and be glad in it.”⁶ 

  ^{[For full talk, go here.]}

^{Second, Make THESE:}

PB ‘Nana Cream Bites 

by Nom!Nom!Nom!

I hes­i­tate to even call this a recipe, as it’s so basic it’s really more of a guide­line. These cold morsels of nom­ness con­tain the tri­fecta of fla­vor– banana, peanut but­ter and choco­late, mak­ing for a lux­u­ri­ous ice cream-esque bite. You can always sub­sti­tute a dif­fer­ent nut butter.

2 large bananas
1/4 cup nat­ural peanut but­ter
1/2 cup choco­late chips
2 tbsp-1/4 cup milk of choice [I used coconut oil]

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper or parch­ment. Slice bananas into coins about 1/2–3/4 inch thick. Spread a lit­tle dol­lop of peanut but­ter on top of each one. In a small bowl, com­bine the choco­late chips and milk (remem­ber, less is more). Microwave in 15 sec­ond incre­ments until you can whisk them together. You want it to be a dipable con­sis­tency, not spread­able. Add a splash more milk if nec­es­sary. Dip the banana chunks using a fork as a lit­tle chocolate-coating fork­lift, dip­ping them into the melted choco­late. Place choco­late coated bananas on the pre­pared sheet and place in freezer until com­pletely frozen (3–5 hours). Remove frozen banana chunks from the sheet and store in a freezer container.

Read, create, enjoy! Finding joy in the everyday moments is what makes this journey worth every step.