Do you ever realize you’re in a funk but can’t quite put your finger on the reason? That’s been me this week. The past few days I’ve been asking the Holy Spirit to bring to the surface the root of what has been weighing on my mind. As I’ve been sorting out my thoughts, I’ve been paying close attention to listening for God’s voice to speak to my heart.

Yesterday, a memory of a special moment I shared with the Lord at the beach a month ago came to mind. It was as if God was reminding me that what He revealed to me a month ago still remains real today. I smiled as the memory took me back…

The sun was beginning to hang low in the sky, a sign that sunset was approaching. I decided to take a walk on the beach, soak in the beautiful scenery, and clear my mind. Though I was thrilled to be on vacation and out of my normal routine, my heart was still fighting some discouragement. I knew from experience the best medicine for my troubled heart was some quiet moments with God beside the ocean.

As I walked along the beach, the water lapped at my feet and the shells collided against each other as they landed on the shore. I poured out my heart to God about my hopes, dreams, and fears about our future, namely my desire to have a baby. I breathed in the salty air and exhaled some of my worries; the beach has a way of accomplishing that for me.

I turned around to look back at the sun and noticed it was about to hide below the water’s edge. Not wanting to miss the majesty of the moment, I plopped down on the sand. The orange and pink glow of the sun reflected on the water and I soaked in the stillness around me. Just then I noticed at least twenty tiny seagulls playing in the water five yards from where I sat. They flitted in and out of the water, pecking at each other and making soft chirping noises. I stared at the birds that appeared to be having the time of their lives without a care in the world. It seemed like such a stark contrast to how I had felt minutes ago with the weight of my concerns heavy on my shoulders.

I breathed in deeply and asked God to speak to my heart. Hardly a moment passed before the Lord brought one of my favorite verses to mind:

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26)

Tears formed in my eyes as I realized God had just spoken directly to my heart. Then I felt Him say to me, “I am in the details.” I nodded my head as if to say, “I hear you, Lord.” I needed that reassurance that He heard me too and that He was fully involved in my life.

I sat in the sand as I watched the golden sun descend into the water leaving a beautiful reflection on the sea. The birds still fluttered about, leaving me a tangible reminder of how personally God cares for me. Every single detail.

This week I found myself fighting some anxiety about our future as well and decided to look up the verse again. I soaked in the words of the passage as if it was the first time I had heard them. After processing some fears and worries, this is the kind of truth I need to read:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:25-34).

So if you are fighting off a funk right now, feeling the weight of the world burdening your shoulders, or just needing to hear some solid truth from Scripture, be encouraged that God is in the details of your situation. And if He takes care of the birds of the air, He most certainly will take care of you. And me.

“Cast ALL your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

10: 3 times you heard laughter today: a friend’s daughter being tickled, a friend laughing at my husband’s jokes, my husband able to enjoy himself after a long week of work

11: 3 gifts found in working: a clean bedroom, a stack of clean clothes in the laundry basket, a sparkling kitchen counter

12: 3 hard eucharisteos [I had to look up the meaning of this word and it means "to be grateful."]: this time in my life to enjoy rest even when I would love to have children, the difficult road of cancer, the waiting

13: 3 gifts found behind a door today: warmth, laughter, hugs

14: 3 ways you feel the love of God: not always giving me what I want, meeting me in my disappointment, giving me a gentle husband to do life with

15: a gift in losing something, in finding something, in making something: reorganized closets, rest, confidence

16: 3 gifts in shadows: the warm-ish sun beaming through the window = that equals three for me today!

As I mentioned last week, God is teaching me to take time to note the of the ways He is working in my life–monumental and inconsequential. So each Thursday, I am going to post my responses to the Joy Dare from the 1,000 Gifts blog as a way for me to be intentional about making this a habit for me. I would love for you to join along!

FEBRUARY JOY DARE

1. a gift found at 11:30am, 2:30pm, 6:30pm: time to sit and catch up on email, time to actually take down my Christmas decorations, my husband home early from work

2. 3 things overheard today, all gifts: “I’m so glad you’re my wife,” “God answered my prayers,” “Notice what God is doing in your life.”

3, 3 gifts found in writing: trusting God, surrendering to God, finding peace

4. 3 gifts found when bent down: my health, new flooring after our flood, relaxation

5. one gift stitched, one gift hammered, one gift woven: a quilt from my Grandma for my wedding, a painting of the words”oh how He loves us” from my sister-in-law, a prayer blanket from Jared’s Aunt while going through chemo

6. 3 gifts found outside: the orange glow of the sun this morning, my breath dissipating into the cold air, the sun reflecting on our windshield as we drive

7. 3 gifts red: a Christmas wreath stored away until next year, “You Are Mine” pillow uncovered in boxes for Valentine’s Day, the heart printed on the Starbucks cup in my hand

8. a gift broken, a gift fixed, a gift thrifted: my beaded necklace, stitching the holes in my shirts this week, a Lenox vase to match my china

9. 3 gifts that were surprises–unexpected grace!: changing to a new room for Bible study with a more intimate feel, a coffee date with a dear friend and her young girls, a vulnerable time with the Lord after hearing about a disappointment

May we open our eyes this week to the ways God is working in our lives!

I have been devouring the book, Invitations from God, that I received for Christmas from my Mother-in-law. I love when a book speaks directly to what you’re learning, and that is what this book has been doing for me. I found the following words very convicting, challenging, and encouraging. I hope they cause you to ponder your life as they have for me.

Invitations from God by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, pgs 14-17:

“In our culture, the more invitations that come our way, the more valuable we are considered to be. The more clubs or associations we belong to, the more status we have–especially if we had to be nominated and wait to be invited in. By saying yes to the invitations, we prove that we are important, wanted and–of course–busy. The truth, however, is that when we say yes to invitations that keep us compulsively busy, we may be exhibiting a lazy ambivalence that actually keeps us distracted from the invitations that matter most. Squeezing every margin to the max, we are left with less time and space to respond to the invitations from God. We want to enjoy life, but ironically our many yeses to invitations keep us stressed, drained, and inattentive to the divine invitations that bring freedom and belonging. So it is that we say, ‘I can’t come. I’m really busy. Please excuse me’ to the most important invitation we receive. We’ve chosen to say yes to things besides God.

As the flood of invitations from organizations, business, charities, family entertainment, athletics, fitness and education pull us in their wake, we must grab a branch and take stock. Are we ignoring the invitations that matter most’?…Do we have any idea what God’s invitations to us are? Do our yeses to invitations simply divert or stroke our ego? Or do they nurture and grow body, soul, and spirit? Do they build connections within the body of Christ and bring health to our marriage and family? Do the invitations we accept us make us more free or less? Which invitations are shaping your world?…

God’s invitations are meant to mend, shape, and anchor and grow us into the character of Jesus. They call us into our true selves in Christ. They free us from the lie that says, ‘The more invitations the better.’ Invitations from the Holy One serve God’s dream for the world. They don’t call me to become what I produce, what others thing of me or what I know. They invite me to be free. And freedom comes from being an intentional follower of Jesus–one who is a little Christ in this world…

As we accept the divine invitations, an inner knowing of our belonging to God takes root. This root taps into the healing wisdom and love of God, and it braces us against the storm of deforming likes that we are unwanted and don’t matter to anyone unless we produce. In our yeses to God, trust blossoms out as fruit and freedom.”

May we say yes to God’s invitations and discover more of who we are in the process.

I am sitting in my new chaise lounge chair in our bedroom with the sun warming my legs. Ah, it’s almost like I was still in the Bahamas–except that I am overlooking bare trees on a snow-covered ground instead of the sparkling ocean. But I am learning to be grateful. Oh, so grateful. Grateful for what I have instead of what I don’t. Grateful for time time Jared and I had to get away. For the uninterrupted time together to talk and connect. For the gorgeous scenery and calming ocean waves. For time time to pause and reflect on life. What a gift it is to take the time to think about life and what God is specifically doing in mine –whether it be on a beach chair in the Bahamas or a chaise lounge chair in Illinois.

I recently have been enjoying Ann Voskamp’s thoughts on her blog and book, One Thousand Gifts. God opened my eyes to her material at a season of my life where I am learning much about the choice of gratefulness. I love when God intersects my life with truth when I need it most. I ran across Ann’s challenge of pausing and capturing gifts of life and thought I would write out my responses. (For those of you interested, she is inviting her readers to count 1000 gifts in 2012 by writing down three things a day. I came to this challenge late but plan to print off her February Joy Dare and keep it by my journal to record my daily gratitude. I would love for you to join me!)

JANUARY JOY DARE: Capture these gifts

Each New Year, I like to take some time to reflect on the past year. I am learning how important it is to pause, reflect, and listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting in my life, and taking time to reflect around the New Year seems like an built-in opportunity to do so.

We had a very full–but wonderful–time with both Jared’s and my family the past couple of weeks. We visited Jared’s parents for Christmas and then came home for several days while I had a mole removed and my MRI for my cancer check-up. Then we left after my MRI to visit my family and grandparents for the weekend. We so enjoyed celebrating with both of our families, and wrapped up the holiday feeling very grateful for all God has given us.

However, with so much activity, I did not have an opportunity to still my heart and reflect on 2011. So last night as we drove back to Chicago, Jared and I asked each other the following reflection questions about 2011. It was so nice to pause, reflect, and learn from 2011 as we embrace 2012.

Reflection Questions of 2011

(The twenty questions were originally posted on the Simple Mom blog, though I found them on my friend Katie’s blog. Jared and I chose to ask each other just the ones below.)

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?

5. What were the best books you read this year?

6. With whom were your most valuable relationships?

7. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?

8. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?

9. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?

10. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?

11. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?

12. What was the best way you used your time this past year?

13. What was biggest thing you learned this past year?

And then a question we added:

14. With those answers in mind, what shifts are we going to make, with God’s help, in our lives in 2012?

I plan to spend some time journaling these thoughts in more detail this week because I want to make sure I give adequate time to reflecting on the past year to bookmark the lessons God taught me. I encourage you to do the same.

Here’s to a year ahead where we grow deeper in intimacy in our relationships with God, no matter what may come.

***

I wanted to thank you so much for your prayers for my MRI last Thursday. I brought the CD that I referenced in my previous blog entry and I had the most peaceful experience I’ve had yet when it comes to laying inside a skinny tube without moving for over an hour! I definitely credit that to God acting upon your prayers. I received an email from the nurse practitioner the following day telling me that the MRI results looked good. I don’t think those words will ever get old! What a relief to my heart to hear all looked clear. I have an appointment to meet with my oncologist on Thursday to discuss the details and will look forward to moving forward in 2012. Thank you again for journeying with me.

Just a quick note to ask for your prayers for me during my routine MRI scan tomorrow (Thursday). I am praying for no sign of cancer anywhere in my body and that God would continue to prepare my body to become pregnant in His timing and His way. Thank you for your encouragement during this journey!

On the way home from visiting Jared’s parents’ for Christmas, Jared and I listened to the newest Passion CD, Here For You. I especially liked the song “Lord, I Need You.” Since I get to listen to music while laying inside the claustrophobic tube tomorrow, I am going to request this song over and over so I can be reminded of some good truth!

Lord, I Need You
by Chris Tomlin

Lord I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You’re the one that guides my heart

Chorus:
Lord, I need You, oh I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness

Oh God, how I need You
Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are Lord I am free
Holiness is Christ in me
Yes where You are Lord I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Bridge:
So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You
Jesus You’re my hope and stay
And when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You
Jesus You’re my hope and stay

As I was lying in bed a few nights ago, I stared at the ceiling, tossing and turning and hoping to fall back asleep. But try as I might, my mind would not stop racing. I prayed for God to help me discern the reason for my restlessness.

I didn’t have to look too far for the culprit; my next cancer check-up is at the end of December, just ten days away. This past week I had to make several phone calls to confirm the routine MRI and I could feel the all-too-familiar set of butterflies making their descent upon my stomach. The fears slowly inched their way back into my mind, setting up camp. What if they find a suspicious spot on the scan? What if…? What if…? What if…?

As I thought about my check-up, I realized that I have a destructive default response (in my flesh) when it comes to preparing for my upcoming check-ups: I obsess. I turn into a hypochondriac and I start “seeing ghosts,” as they say. If my hip hurts, I start fearing that I have cancer in my bones. If I have a headache, I assume I have an aneurysm that will burst any second. It’s as if I am subconsciously hunting for maladies. And let me just tell you, it produces something well short of a peaceful mind and joyful spirit.

I’ve thought about my default response enough to realize that part of the reason I do this goes back to that sneaky little word: control. You see, when I found out my tumor was cancerous, it wasn’t the most conventional way. Recall I was initially told by a nurse that the cancer was contained in my tumor that was removed. However, ten days later, my oncologist called to say there was a mistake and I would need to go through chemo. So I think in some odd way, my mind thinks that if I can figure out if I have an ailment ahead of time, then I can control it and not be shocked by the news.

Prior to my fearful thoughts descending upon me this past week, I had been really encouraged over the last few months that I haven’t had as many obsessive fears about my ailments. God has been teaching me a lot about trusting Him for my future and relaxing in my every day life. In the midst of such growth, I was disappointed to see my default response rear its ugly head. Oh, it’s you again.

Thankfully, Jared and I have been having some deep discussions as of late about various growth areas in our lives. We have particularly enjoyed listening to James MacDonald’s sermon series on how to change entitled “Lord, Change Me.” One insight he shared has been reverberating in my mind. He said that an evidence of growth in your life is not that you never slip up again but that when you do, your time in the pit isn’t as extensive or as lengthy. That thought has encouraged me that though I slipped back into my default response with respect to my upcoming MRI, I caught myself much earlier than I have before.

Maybe you can relate. Your default response probably is different than mine, but most likely you have been in a situation where you’ve thought to yourself, Why do I keep responding this way every time?

So what do we do when we realize that we are in default response mode? After reflecting and praying, below are seven action steps that came to mind.

1. Ask God for discernment about what triggers our default response. For instance, for me, I am realizing that every check-up brings to the surface all of my fears. I am learning to anticipate this flood of emotions instead of being knocked off my feet.

2. Reflect on what our default response says about our view of God. I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite books on prayer is called The Papa Prayer by Larry Crabb. In the book he gives an acronym for prayer and the first “A” stands for “Attend to how you’re thinking about God.” Each night before I am falling asleep, I try to pray through this acronym. I admit I get a bit stuck when I get to this “A” because it requires me to pause and truly reflect on how I am viewing God in my current situation. This prayer book as well as Beth Moore’s Believing God study that I am currently doing is helping me learn to trust God for who He really is (powerful, omnipotent, unchanging…) instead of who I misperceive Him to be (uninterested, passive, domineering…).

3. Ask God for discernment about why we respond the way we do. I have been asking God to help me get to the root of my default response because if I just try to modify my behavior and never deal with the cause, this default response will persist. If I am honest with myself, I realize that the reason I respond the way I do is because I am fearful that the cancer will return. And if the cancer returns, I most likely will not be able to have my own biological children. These are very real fears and when I look at the root instead of the surface of my default response, I can invite God into those fears and work through the emotion.

4. Invite God into our fears. When we realize why we respond the way we do, I am learning how crucial it is to ask God to meet me in these fears. For me, the way this usually looks is I pour out my heart to God about my fear. For example, I probably imagined I had six different ailments this week. As each one came, my heart skipped a beat and I thought, Oh no, maybe this ache is really the worst case scenario I dread. On a good day when I am staying connected to God, I can examine that silly fear and ask God for strength to fight off the urge to take that fear for a spin down a very slippery slope. On a bad day when I am feeling bombarded by flaming arrows covered in fears, sometimes the only thing I can do is say, “Jesus, please help me. I invite you into this discouragement and need help finding truth.” Some days I just say that over and over again.

5. Replace our destructive thoughts with God’s truth. Yesterday during an anxious moment, I actually told myself, “Obsessing over this ailment isn’t going to help anything and it’s just making you crazier.” And then instead I quoted one of my favorite verses to myself: “He will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because He trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). As I’ve written before, Beth Moore has taught me that we must do more than just refuse to think that toxic thought anymore; we must replace that thought with truth. I am trying to catch my fearful thoughts before they burrow in and instead replace them with an encouraging song or Scripture verse.

6. Give God the control over our situation. I know, it’s so much easier said than done. As I mentioned above, when I am able to find the root cause of my default response, I then am able to see what the real issue is. And from there, I must analyze who I want to be in control of the situation. Do I want to stay in control? If so, that means every time an ache arises, I will do the same default response dance and try to control my fears. How exhausting. Instead, I want God to take control of the situation. I am learning to surrender my will to His and trust Him to take care of my hopes and dreams in His way. When I focus on Him in all of His glory, I am able to take a step back from my fearful situation and realize that no matter the outcome, God is fully in control. And that brings a deep calm to my soul.

7. Ask the Holy Spirit to equip us to respond well next time. As I explained above, my default response when left to myself is to obsess. But when I ask the Holy Spirit to flood my mind and heart with His Spirit, He can help me respond in a more God-honoring way. And He can equip you too.

As I was formulating these thoughts in my mind for this blog post, Jared and I listened to James MacDonald’s Christmas sermon this weekend. (Which, by the way, was by far one of the best Christmas sermons I have ever heard. I encourage you to listen to it while wrapping presents this week!) He preached from Luke 1, the passage where Mary discovers she is pregnant. He centered in on her response, and thank goodness for us, it was not a destructive default response. But it was a Spirit-filled, eyes-on-the-Lord response.

I love Mary’s words in verse 46, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” James gave the example that a magnifying glass makes things larger, nearer, and more powerful and that was her response to her circumstance—viewing God for who He is: large, near, and powerful.  James encouraged us to “Let God become larger and our problems smaller by magnifying the Lord. God is most magnified in us when we do what would be impossible to do without Him.”

I thought focusing on Mary’s response was the perfect way to wrap up my blog post about our own default responses. James pointed out that Mary must have felt confusion and fear but as she worked through her emotions, she camped out who God was and chose to magnify Him in her situation. This Christmas as we reflect on Mary’s response, may we learn from her example as well.

***

As I was writing this, I couldn’t get Chris Tomlin’s song, “My Soul Magnifies the Lord,” from his Christmas CD out of my head. Here are the lyrics:

My Soul Magnifies the Lord

Good news of great joy
For every woman, every man
This will be a sign to you
A baby born in Bethlehem

Come and worship
Do not be afraid

A company of angels
Glory in the highest
And on the earth peace among
Those of whom His favor rests

Oh, come and worship
Do not be afraid, no, no

My soul, my soul magnifies the Lord
My soul magnifies the Lord
He has done great things for me
Great things for me

Unto you a child is born
Unto us a Son is given
Let every heart prepare His throne
And every nation under Heaven

Come and worship
Do not be afraid, no, no

My soul, my soul magnifies the Lord
My soul magnifies the Lord
He has done great things for me
Great things for me

My soul, my soul magnifies the Lord
My soul magnifies the Lord
He has done great things for me
Great things for me

Of His government there will be no end
He’ll establish it with His righteousness
And He shall reign on David’s throne
And His name shall be from this day on

Wonderful, Counselor, Everlasting Father
Wonderful, Counselor
His name shall be Everlasting Father

My soul, my soul magnifies the Lord
My soul, my soul magnifies the Lord

He has done great things for us
He has done great things for us
He has done great things for us
He has done great things for us

I am LOVING this song. It is such a good one to get stuck in your head!

“Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for you my are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:5

My Hope Is In You by Aaron Shust

I meet with You and my soul sings out
As Your word throws doubt far away
I sing to You and my heart cries Holy!
Hallelujah, Father, You’re near!

(Chorus)
My hope is in You, Lord
All the day long
I won’t be shaken by drought or storm
A peace that passes understanding is my song
And I sing
My hope is in You, Lord

I wait for You and my soul finds rest
In my selfishness, You show me grace
I worship You and my heart cries Glory
Hallelujah, Father You’re here!

Chorus

I will wait on You
You are my refuge
I will wait on You
You are my refuge

I will wait on You
You are my refuge
I will wait on You
You are my refuge

My hope is in You, Lord
All the day long
I won’t be shaken by drought or storm
My hope is in You, Lord
All the day long
I won’t be shaken by drought or storm
A peace that passes understanding is my song
And I sing
My hope is in You, Lord

I am always looking for healthy, holiday appetizers and dishes to serve when I have company over. I thought I would share a few of my favorites this season. I would love to hear what your favorite healthy holiday treats are. Please share!

Stuffed Mushrooms (recipe adapted from Whole Foods)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
2 (8-oz) packages button or baby bella mushrooms, stems removed and finely chopped, caps left intact
1 small yellow onion, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (1-pound) pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water  (I used fresh spinach instead.)
6 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled (I used goat cheese because I like it better!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushroom stems, onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl along with spinach, toss well; set aside to cool.

Arrange mushroom caps in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Add cheese, salt and pepper to spinach mixture then divide filling evenly between mushrooms, mounding it in the center of each. Drizzle mushrooms with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and bake until softened and juicy, about 20 minutes.

*Tip: I read somewhere that before baking, poke a little hole in the mushroom to drain excess liquid. I wish I would have done this because when you bite into the mushroom, it does exude juices!

Pomegranate Cucumbers (recipe adapted from a recipe found on Pinterest)

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber
1 carton of pomegranate seeds (I bought mine at Costco.)
6 ounces of goat cheese
fresh herbs (I used basil and parsley), diced

Directions:

Cut cucumbers into slices. Fold herbs into the cheese until well mixed. Place a dollop of the cheese and herbs mixture on each cucumber. Add a small basil leaf on top of each cucumber. Add around four pomegranate seeds per cucumber. Serve and enjoy!

Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash (adapted from Rachael Ray)
This is one of my favorite recipes. I even made it for my family at Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:

2 acorn squash (I actually use butternut squash and at Thanksgiving I used the pre-cut butternut squash from Costco that made it very easy and still yummy!)
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3/4 pound organic ground beef (You can use chicken too.)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°. Cut the squash in half crosswise and scoop out the pulp and seeds. Trim the ends so each half will stand upright. Place both halves in a baking pan, flesh side up, and pour hot water into the pan to reach about halfway up the squash. (Rachael Ray suggests adding 1/2 tablespoon butter to the center of each squash but I never do.) Season with salt and pepper. Loosely cover the pan with foil. Bake the squash until tender when pierced with a fork, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Prepare the quinoa according to the package directions and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Push the onion aside, add the meat, season with salt and pepper and cook through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the walnuts, cranberries and quinoa; season with salt and pepper.

Remove the squash from the oven and, using a spatula, carefully transfer each half to a plate. Pour out any excess liquid from the centers. Divide the quinoa mixture among the squash.

Mediterranean Stuffed Squash (adapted from Alton Brown)
(We went to dinner at our dear friends’ Kelly and Eman’s this weekend and they made this delicious meal. It was funny because one of Jared’s any my favorite dishes is the Quinoa Stuffed Squash above; this rivaled that recipe so we are excited to add another one to our repertoire.)

4 small acorn squash, 1 to 1 1/4 pounds each
1/2 pound organic chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped zuchinni
1/3 cup squash
1 teaspoon Whole Foods Mediterranean seasoning
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
Generous pinch kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions: