Momentary marriages and banana muffins.

We finished discussing the book This Momentary Marriage by John Piper yesterday evening in our small group. While I felt that the book was realistic {and a slight downer for a newlywed}, I really value and appreciate our discussions and Piper’s thesis that he reiterates every chapter: mainly that “the ultimate meaning of marriage – the ultimate purpose of marriage – is to dramatize on earth the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church.” There were a few things he wrote in his conclusion that I’d like to save in my mind {so I’ll save them on this blog!} Bear with me on this, all are direct quotes from the book, and all speak to me.

• Focusing on the pragmatic effects {on poverty, health, employment, children, etc} of marriage undermines the very power of marriage to achieve the effects we desire.
• Make him and the glory of his Son central, and you get the practical effects thrown in. Make the practical effects central, and you lose both.
• Knowing Christ is more important than making a living.
• Treasuring Christ is more important than bearing children.
• Being united to Christ by faith is a greater source of marital success than perfect sex and double-income prosperity.
• But if we set our face to make of marriage mainly what God designed it to be, no sorrows and no calamities can stand in our way. Every one of them will be, not an obstacle to success, but a way to succeed.
• The beauty of the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church shines brightest when nothing but Christ can sustain it. {*I love this one.}
• May the marriage-watching world be captivated by the covenant-keeping love of Christ.
• {And a perfect prayer, in my opinion} May God give us eyes to see what matters most in this life.

Ok, on to lighter topics. This weekend, I took a recipe for Banana Crumb Muffins and adapted it to be healthier by including whole wheat flower and less fat {read: butter} and less sugar, more spices, and double the amount. I made about 20 muffins. I think mine were a bit too “spicy”, so I’m adjusting the recipe here to have less nutmeg.

Banana Crumb Muffins

Ingredients for muffin batter

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5-6 bananas, mashed {I had mine stored in the freezer}
• 1 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup applesauce

Ingredients for crumb topping

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg {or 1/2…try either & let me know your opinion!}
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 20 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Mash your bananas using a potato masher or fork.

In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and applesauce. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon.

Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Eugene & his brother said they liked them, and so did I…especially since I felt a teensy bit less guilty since I made them healthier. ;)

The original recipe I based these on is here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Crumb-Muffins/Detail.aspx?src=etaf

Mmm. Perfect on a Sunday morning with a cup of hot Swiss Mocha Coffee.