Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Randy's Story


When Billie and I moved to Arizona and prayed for a good church, God kinda blew us out of the water with Thunder Mountain Community Church. Just by introducing ourselves to some people on Sunday morning and then connecting with the church on Facebook, twitter, etc, we were able to make friends and plug in almost immediately. Because of the church, I met my friend Charity the day before my first triathlon... and she was competing in it too. That alone was a blessing since I was scared out of my wits, and she had done the race before! 

We immediately bonded with our pastor. One reason was that he recently had tongue cancer. After his surgeries and treatment were completed, he received speech therapy. Yay for speech! :) (I'm a speech therapist, if you didn't get that.) That all happened before we moved to Arizona. The video below is a commercial promoting UAMC in Tucson. Pretty cool.



But Pastor Randy and his wife Kim are such a cool couple... I adore them, and I've told them so. It's been a huge blessing to work at the church office a few days a week. Often even in passing, Pastor Randy has passed on bits of encouragement or wisdom that seemed to be just what I needed at that time. If you want to grow spiritually, surround yourself with older, wiser Christians and see what happens. 


A few of my favorite Randy quotes:
"I believe there are more answers in heaven than there are prayers on earth."

"It's imperfection that allows us to represent Christ the best."

"Be willing to step over offenses and see the person's heart."

"I don't trust God if... I don't trust God when... I trust God period." --- in relation to cancer

"Ladies: focus on your husbands strengths and he will grow in those areas. Dwell on weaknesses and you will have a wimp!" --- Simple, Not Easy marriage series

 

Back to my main point for this post: This is Pastor Appreciation Month. So the church staff is doing little things for Randy all month.

I offered to make paleo muffins this week, and that's what I did!

Randy has a friend and a fellow pastor of his who are now "paleo," and we joke that maybe God is trying to tell him something. :) Next month, Billie and I are having Pastor Randy and Mrs. Kim over and cooking a paleo meal to give them a taste. Pun intended.

Anywho, I made paleo cinnamon pecan pumpkin muffins and my other favorite- coconut apple muffins for the occasion.

Paleo Cinnamon Pecan Pumpkin Muffins

Paleo Coconut Apple Muffins
Pastor Randy sent me this picture... eating his 4th... I think muffins were a success.

Paleo Cinnamon Pecan Pumpkin Muffins
From: Fit Paleo Mom

To make muffins you will need:
1 cup almond flour
1 cup almond butter
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs, whisked
1/2 cup raw honey
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl (I also added pumpkin pie spice)
3. Add eggs, almond butter, honey, pumpkin and coconut oil
4. Mix well
5. Add chopped pecans
6. Pour into individual greased muffin tins in equal amounts
7. Bake for 15-20 min (I baked mine longer)

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