Juice-Infused

I've gained a knack of making granola bars from scratch and I'm not too bad at it. I mix up those oats and honey and nuts like it's nothing and press them into ooey-gooey bars that harden overnight into the perfect breakfast. It's a simple, process, really, and anyone can do it. 

In efforts to make my granola bars more "healthy" and "packed with antioxidants" like all of the really cool looking packages at Trader Joe's say, I decided to incorporate the acclaimed Pomegranate. Super trendy! Right? So, I headed to Wal-Mart, and bought this...

 

So, I know what you are all thinking. "Looks like a steal!" And with a price-tag of only $1.88, I thought the same! My mind was racing, "what's next? Flax? vitamin D? Gluten-free?" 

After I placed the pomegranate into my special treat, I saw the small word to the right of the misleading "Pomegranate" title, saying, "juice infused". What I discovered is that, what I thought were pomegranates were little sugared up cranberries that (sort-of) taste like pomegranate. 

Not so cool, anymore. 

Actually.... I think these might have high fructose corn syrup in them? And peroxide? Poison! 

Ah, these little, stupid, fake, pomecranberries will be the death of my healthy granola bars! 

Then, I began thinking a little more... and I felt a level of...pathetic.

No, not because of the Craisins bag (imbecile- Craisins... I should have known.) in itself, rather, the reality that I could of digged a bit deeper and realized the reality of the (cheap) bag of berries that I thought were totally different. Heck, I could have even asked a friend. Instead, I decided to convince myself I was right and that I was doing something awesome by making this purchase. 

I am currently whizzing through Donald Miller's "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" which is a narrative about the concept of "story" and investigating what makes a great story and what we can do in order to start living a better story. Without getting into too much detail about the book (a book you should read, by the way), something that Miller realizes in the book is something I've also realized in my own life- Sometimes I simply live with the intention of truly aspiring to do great things through God and for God. It's not even because I'm not authentically pursuing Christ on a personal level, I believe I am. However, what I am doing is going on with "who I am" instead of continuing to become "who I want to  be". 

Especially as of late, due to a number of factors, I have been undergoing a transformation. I become satisfied with being transformed in my heart and even my mind, but what needs to happen now is truly pursuing how God has changed my life in every facet of every dream I have ever had- and having the courage, the boldness, and the intention to make these things transpire. Because, the hero in the movie never gets anywhere by "thinking he can".

It makes me think of one of my favorite quotes that comes from Henry Ford:

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."

So, here's to having God transform my life in ways that lead me to action!

I no longer want to be "juice-infused" and pretend like I'm a real pomegranate. (What the heck does "juice infused"mean, anyway?) 

I want to be an authentic follow of Christ, through and through.