Our spirits are like gardens. What we plant and what we allow in them will affect the fruit that the plants inside our garden bear. We must no longer allow seeds of hate, bitterness, jealousy, pride, strife, chaos, etc. into our spiritual garden. Only the best seeds for the best fruit. We can plant the best seeds, but if we allow 'pests' to come into our garden without proper measures to control them, they can destroy the garden. 'Pest' control does not always have to end the life of the 'pest'. It simply means that there is a time and a place where that pest may survive but in your garden is not that place, and when you are expecting a harvest is not that time. The pests in our spiritual garden are people who do not want to do the harvest work, yet want to eat the harvest crop before the time of harvest and before you have had time to even taste the goodness of the harvest. You have to evict those people out of your spiritual garden or your harvest will always be substantially less than it should be. We can have a great crop but if we do not deal appropriately with weeds, they can suffocate our crops. The weeds in life are distractions that take our focus off of harvest time. These distractions cause us to expend unnecessary energy and time rooting them out. And when we root one out; if we aren't careful 10 more may spring up. The trick to prevent weeds from wrecking havoc on your spiritual garden is to kill the root of the weeds. What are the sources of distraction in your life? Refuse to entertain them from the moment these distractions first become noticeable. I'm going on a journey of healing and spiritual cleansing. I pray that you all will do the same from time to time. I ask for your patience as I embark on this spiritual journey. I will be back. Until then, I will not be posting or sharing anything. I ask that you keep me in prayers. Scripture to reflect on: Matthew 13

Late post of my lunch from @tribecollectivelaf!!! Raw Vegan Goodness! Amazing and energizing.

Baby girl made 8 months yesterday, and I am beyond happy with how far we have come. 8 months of breastfeeding, cloth diapering, and much more. Our journey is unique. I don't try to compete with or shame or compare to the next person. I am just so blessed to have her in my life. So many times I get overwhelmed and think I can't get things together but when I look at her I know I got something right. Through the grace of God! Thank you Lord for this awesome sweet baby who brings me so much joy! ❤️😍

8 months old today! ❤️

Melani had a history food day at school today. She had to pick a good from a country they studied in history and prepare a dish. I helped her veganize a recipe for Anzac biscuits from Australia. They were yummy. Inspiration recipe: http://www.196flavors.com/australia-anzac-biscuits/

Late night scream session! Good night everyone!!

Baby girl loved it! We only recorded her cleaning out the last of her plate.

Made this yummy pasta with red lentil noodles. I prefer it over the chickpea and black bean pasta.

Baby girl rocking my favorite of her lemon print outfits from Children's Place!❤️❤️

Melani is rocking a cute braidout!! ❤️❤️

Blurry but beautiful picture

Yesterday, I baked a delicious gluten-free flax, coconut and macadamia nut bread for breakfast. Here is a picture of the texture of my bread. I'm still experimenting (haven't followed a recipe yet). Taste was awesome. And texture was good right out of the oven. I think next time I will try a few gluten free bread recipes out to compare them to. I also ate a whole gluten-free pizza (between lunch and dinner). Today I woke up with a flat stomach! I am convinced that gluten-free is the way to be! I will continue to reduce my intake of wheat, and hopefully one day completely eliminate it. #nowheatbelly Thinking back on the past month, I may have gluten no more than 3 times a week. Still too much for me.

I'm so happy I made it to the po-boy festival! I was able to try TWO vegan and gluten free poboy options by @tribecollectivelaf!! From @mortarandpestlelaf Fried green tomato From @emergejuice8 "Raw fried oyster" Mushroom Both were amazing!! The "raw fried oysters" were perfect in taste and texture and appearance (best dressed!!) m! I was blown away that it was totally raw (like seriously is this not pan fried?!)! The fried green tomato was also awesome. It was cooked (not raw). Very Flavorful, Crisp and delicious. The tangy sauce on both gave each poboy a bold kick! If I had to choose a winner (like seriously don't make me😩) I would go with the "Raw fried oyster" because it was the best raw meal I have had! If you are in Lafayette area, they will be at the festival until 6! Don't miss out!

Po-boy festival! Yes, there's a vegan poboy, and I'm going to try it!!! (at Parc Sans Souci)

Cheesing!

My niece Star is trying to spoil Raynah!! For the first time ever she cried when she came to me. 💔😩

Had an awesome day today. Drove to New Orleans to attend the #2017Diversity Conclave. Very thought provoking. I stopped by an Ethiopian restaurant on the way home. Cafe Abyssinia had vegan options and the staff was very responsive. Pictured is their veggie platter. The Yamisr Wot (Lentils) were my favorite!! Thanks @simplicitywithamber for encouraging me to try Ethiopian food. I think I need to do like you and start having a mama's night out every few weeks 😄