Self-Discipline.

Time needs to be scheduled and used to keep up with the truth. In planning our schedule for the week, there are three types of activity to take into consideration: (1) The things one must do, (2) the things one would like to do, and (3) the things one will do only if time permits. In the first category, the wise person puts matters pertaining to his spiritual life. Time is life! Those who do not use it wisely now will not have it at all later.

Carrot cake muffins in my tummy tum tum.

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup raw brown (turbinado) sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup golden raisins tossed with 1 teaspoon unbleached all-purpose flour, or 2/3 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack in the upper third of the space. Oil or butter muffin tins.

2. Sift together the whole-wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Using a whisk or a spatula, stir in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Do not beat; a few lumps are fine, but make sure there is no flour at the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the raisins or pecans and the carrots.

4. Spoon into muffin cups, filling them to just below the top (about 4/5 full). Place in the oven, and bake 25 minutes until lightly browned and well risen.

Yield: Twelve muffins, depending on the size of the muffin tins.

Advance preparation: These keep for a couple of days out of the refrigerator, for a few more days in the refrigerator and for a few months in the freezer.

Nutritional information per muffin (based on 12-muffin yield): 239 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 32 milligrams cholesterol; 38 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 323 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health."

D.iscover I.t Y.ourself

In the hardest moments, when I can't say a word for fear I might lose hope, I talk to you from inside. Know that right now, it doesn't matter where I find myself, because you will still find me.You will still love me, and I will still know you.

For the first time in my life, I really understand the meaning of a greater purpose.
I understand that it isn't about being worried, or thinking about the pain that has passed.
There's a peace right here that I can't even believe I have found, somehow.

And while I miss so many, I am sustained. I care for them no less than if they stood right next to me. I didn't know this feeling was possible. Ask me a year ago, and I would have still been trying to find this quiet serenity.

It's strange how life teaches you who to trust and how to trust. The answers and the truth is all around you. And if you really listen, and if you really want to know keep searching.
It always comes.

Patience. I am delivered. I am alive. I am right here, and not afraid, finally.