23 Wednesday May 2018
Tags
My sister, I see you.
You’re so broken that you can’t even imagine having a real friend, let alone a husband. You feel like there’s no hope for you, that you’ve failed.
.
My brother, I see you.
You struggle with depression and anxiety. Continue reading
06 Sunday May 2018
Posted in Writing
Tags
Christianity, encouragement, family, friendship, grief, life
My friend…. I see you.
It’s New Year’s Eve. You had hopes, a year ago, that 2016 would be “your year”.
God chose to give you pain and hurt, loss and loneliness.
.
My friend…. I know you.
You hoped that this year you would find someone who matched you. Who you could be alongside and have communion with, serving God and loving each other.
God chose to give you singleness.
.
My friend…. I hear you.
You’re the popular one. Everybody thinks you’re smart, and funny, and they leave heart emoticons on your profile pictures. But you have no true Friends to confide in, to hear your heart, to hold you close through the ups and downs of life.
God has given you loneliness.
.
My friend…. I see you.
The more people you see dating and getting married, the more keenly you feel that you are beyond understanding and love.
God has given you brokenness.
.
My friend… I know you.
The new year that everyone else is celebrating feels like the gong of a heavy clock, and you wonder why God is so silent. You want to have hopes and dreams and resolutions and new enthusiasm, but you just don’t.
God has given you a season of drought.
.
My friend, He knows you.
He has given you what is best for you.
He will provide for you.
Our Father does not give a snake when we ask for a fish.
Sometimes fish look like snakes to us.
Trust Him.
He loves you.
And I do, too. 
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Happy new year, my friends. May God restore all that is broken.
.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
06 Sunday May 2018
Posted in Writing
Tags
encouragement, friendship, grief, hurt, life, love, singleness
My sister, I see you.
You’re the girl who was abused as a child, and now feels as if all of her worth has been robbed of her, and that no man can bear the amount of brokenness you carry inside.
–
My brother, I see you. Continue reading
22 Wednesday Nov 2017
Posted in Writing
I wrote a song-poem once, for the man I loved and who later broke my heart.
I don’t love him any more, but this is still true. For someone. Someday. I’m so thankful that I haven’t lost my deep capacity for love as I thought I had after he left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 4, 2015
_
I will be here
When the storm clouds gather and life is hard
I will be here
When the road is easy or the wind is cold
I won’t leave you
When other friends have come and gone
Forgotten your name and went on their way,
I will be here.
~
I will go with you
Through the dirt and the mud of this life we are living
When others turn back ’cause they can’t bear the pain
Though you think you’re alone and the road is uncharted
Just look around, because I will be here.
~
[refrain]
Look around, look behind
There are many who will leave you
They call themselves friend, but they just are not true
Look above, look ahead, and with God as my witness
There’s one who will be here forever for you.
~
It’s easy to stay when the sun is bright shining
And laugh in the cool of a summer twilight
It’s easy to be there when music is merry
But few will remain in the dead of the night.
~
[refrain]
~
Many will leave you who said they’d be true,
Who talked of a friendship that never would end ,
But they felt the hot blast of the fire storm upon you
Fell away and then left you alone once again.
~
[refrain]
~
This life is so lonely sometimes that you wonder
If you fell off the earth, who’d come looking for you?
Who would call out your name if you fell by the wayside?
Who cares? Oh, dear brother! I promise I do.
~
[refrain]
~
I will be here
When all other friends have gone on their way
I will be true
When the gale blows hard and it’s painful to stay,
I won’t leave you
I will always be here.
~
Others don’t see past your brave mode of action
That inside you’re lonesome and hurt and afraid
They don’t see through you to a heart that is hungry,
But I promise I’ll see it and whisper your name.
~
[refrain]
~
I will be on your side in the dark hour of danger
When night closes in and it gets hard to breathe
When friends are all lost and the closest a stranger
I’ll be there, I will stay, until you are free.
~
[refrain]
~
There is One far more true than all earthly companions,
Who promised to stay and to never forsake,
In His strength I will keep every promise I made you
But you know that His promises never can break.
~
Look around, look behind
There are many who will leave you
They call themselves friend, but they just are not true,
Look above, look ahead, and with God as my witness,
There’s one who will be here forever for you.
~
Look around, look behind
There is One who will not leave you,
He calls Himself Friend, and His word always true
Look above, look ahead, and with God as my witness,
I promise I’ll be here forever for you.
~ 
17 Friday Jun 2016
Posted in Uncategorized
My newest invented recipe. Paleo (sugar free, dairy free, etc) jello. It’s so good!
Find the recipe here:
Coconut-Raspberry Swirl Jello (sugar free, dairy free, paleo)
14 Monday Dec 2015
Posted in Recipes
I made this last night, improvising between a handful of recipes I found online.
We’ve gotten tired of our old tomato soup recipe, so I’ve been on the lookout for a new one. Someone said at dinner: “This is good. It actually tastes like tomatoes, not like red water.”
Well, good. I’m sorry for all those past batches of soup you’ve had to endure.
(the main difference was that this recipe uses crushed tomatoes instead of equal parts tomato juice and broth)
I didn’t follow measurements or a recipe while I was making this, so I’m going to try to write it down the best I can.
serves about 7
1 onion
8 ounces canned diced tomatoes (any kind of canned tomato works)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried basil
7 leaves fresh basil (optional)
1 tsp dried or fresh parsley
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
Milk or cream, optional
Dice the onion. In your soup pot, sautee the onion until it’s translucent, stirring periodically.
add your remaining ingredients to the pot and simmer until warm. Puree in a blender (I used my immersion blender) and serve with milk or cream.
To make a meal of it, we like popcorn and sliced cheese and apples with the tomato soup.
Like this recipe? Check out some of the other allergy-free deliciousness I’ve posted!
Gluten free banana bread
Gluten, dairy, grain free chocolate cake
Paleo Lemon Bars
10 Thursday Dec 2015
Posted in Gluten Free, Recipes
Tags
allergy, allergy free, Dairy free, egg free, Gluten free, Healthy, oatmeal, Recipes, Sugar free
I made these for dessert last night and they went over really well. I adjusted the original recipe to fit our family’s particular dietary restrictions, and they turned out perfectly! It’s like carrot cake and oatmeal cookies all rolled into one. Continue reading
03 Thursday Dec 2015
Posted in Gluten Free, Recipes
Tags
baking, christmas, cookies, dessert, DIY, family, food, fun, Gluten free, holiday, kids, sugar cookies, tradition, tutorial
Growing up, I always loved those little spritz cookies that you punched out and sprinkled with colored sugar. When we went gluten free seven years ago, I missed them a lot.
But then I decided to make sugar-cookies from a new recipe I found from a 2010 Taste of Home magazine. I tweaked them a little and made them gluten-free, and upon tasting them I realized that they reminded me so much of the spritz I loved growing up! Light and buttery and melt-in your mouth; crisp and yet soft; crumbly and yet chewy. Continue reading
03 Thursday Dec 2015
Posted in Creativity, Tutorials
≈ Comments Off on DIY: Book page wedding garland
30 Monday Nov 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
Guess what I’m doing!
Hearthside Studio: Custom illustrated portraits <click to read details
The Songbird's Pencil 