Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Breakfast IS the Most Important!

After all my seriousness lately — not to mention all the gloom in the world — I felt like it was time for some levity!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Am I right??? That's why you've got to make it count. Having a great breakfast and avoiding general morning chaos sets the tone for my day. The last few mornings I haven't had a breakfast plan and I've been McCrankypants Moodybritches.

I've recently developed a mild obsession with oatmeal (is it because I'm in my 30s??). But I don't like ordinary oatmeal. What could be tastier than overnight steel cut oats in the crockpot? Thank you Dad for introducing me to this! First, steel cut oats is heartier and sticks to your ribs. Then, if you top your oatmeal off with green apples, pecans, and a touch of maple syrup, you might even want to skip lunch!



You can find a great recipe for this oatmeal here — except I didn't add barley or ginger and I prefer maple syrup to milk and honey. Don't be afraid to tailor the recipe to your likes.

My other go-to oatmeal recipe came from my sweet friend, Liz. If you've never tried baked blueberry oatmeal, you ought to! Like the first oatmeal recipe, this one is a super cheap, comforty food that can feed a crew.

If you're planning to host family or friends during these upcoming holidays, then I highly recommend trying these recipes. They're quite the crowd pleasers. And now's the time to freeze some of those fresh picked blueberries so you can have them for baking all winter long!

Serve with mimosas to die happy.

If you have any awesome breakfast recipes, please share them with me! Gotta keep it fresh, folks.

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Die to Self

I recently shared on FB one of my favorite sermons of all time. It was one of the clearest articulations of the gospel I'd heard. Maybe it was also sweet because I was thirsty for God's grace.

Our church's interim pastor, Cameron Barham, has blessed me during this season of transition at Four Corners in innumerable ways — the main being reigniting my love of scripture.

If you haven't had a chance to check out his sermon, you can take a listen to the podcast here! His sermon from today (8/17) was amazing, too, and will be posted on the church's website in the coming days.

These recent sermons have led to powerful revelations in my own life. If we're being completely honest with ourselves, we've all been in a place where we've taken our blessings for granted.

That has always been a struggle of mine, to lose sight of what I have — what God has given me — and to seek new ways to satiate my discontentment or restlessness.

Especially when satan whispers low. And you better believe he does.

It is a despondent place to be, indeed, when you allow yourself to say, I have everything that was supposed to make me happy, and it isn't enough.

But when we believe that, we are believing a lie as old as time, just as Eve believed the serpent when he whispered that God was holding out. King Solomon said it best — There is nothing new under the sun.

But, Jesus is the Bread of Life, the true Passover Lamb. He is enough. We are broken cisterns and He is the fountain of living water. He is the Word made flesh. His work is finished; therefore my joy is complete.

Sometimes the tension between God's spirit in me and my fallen flesh is palpable. I pray to die to self as I struggle between the now and not yet.

Father, help me to know only Christ and Him crucified. Help me to boast in Christ alone. Help me to seek first the kingdom and His righteousness.

Amen.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Feast Your Eyes

So....enough about Black Raven Hollow (except to say thank you all for your support and a successful launch Friday!)...

Know what I did to celebrate my first Friday of having freelance work rather than a mandatory 8 hours???

It's silly — I know — but I had my heart set on cooking a ham (I never have before) and some country sides. I ended up making corn soufflĂ© and green bean casserole. Maybe when I have more energy I'll share the recipes. For now, feast your eyes on this meal:


Several of you have enjoyed my recipes in the past, so I'm hopefully going to be sharing a few new ones on the blog during the coming weeks! School starts back this week, so wish me luck in my new position!!!


Friday, August 1, 2014

Black Raven Hollow

I've long known I am married to a man of many talents.

I've only just recently learned about what it is that makes his world go 'round:

It's Halloween.



Yup. Taken out of context of knowing my husband, that might sound strange. You might even be tempted to judge him. Don't. With Jonathan, themed holidays — Halloween in particular — are just extensions of his warm and loving heart. It ultimately boils down to family and community for him. And the process of bringing others enjoyment during these special times of the year brings him inexplicable joy.

Also, he's sort of an expert on Halloween. He is first and foremost a Halloween consumer — and when he couldn't find enough of the things out there that he likes, he decided to take matters into his own hands. And now he's going to share those things with you.

But wait, let me back up for a moment.

For those of you who don't have the privilege of knowing Jonathan, he is an IT director at a newspaper (yup, the very same one where I used to be a reporter). He also operates a freelance web development business (JonathanMelvilleDesign). His most recent project (Serenbe.com) turned out amazing. It also tested the limits of his knowledge and patience. We are both so grateful for his side work and I'm thankful for his talents and his willingness to work hard for his family. But, after this last project wrapped, we had one of those "life is short" conversations where you have to ask yourself what it is in life that brings you joy. And that is how I came to learn what Halloween has always meant to my husband.

And then he made me watch a documentary (American Scream) and I'm starting to understand a little more. And be a little more scared.

This is all strange and new to me. It's not every day you learn something new about the person you've been married to for nearly four years. And so I'm trying to be supportive of this hobby. More than that, I've become his business partner. Yay, Halloween!

That is why I am the most proud of him I've ever been that in the few short weeks since that fateful revelation, he's already putting his talents to work with his passion to bring you his new Halloween Etsy shop:

Black Raven Hollow



The first three people to share a link to my blogpost on their Facebook page will receive a free vintage book print of your choosing.

It's a little crazy to be talking about Halloween when it's still a couple of months away, I know. But, I'm dying to see what my husband comes up with next. Like a Salem witch, he's on fiya.

Happy Haunting. XO