Being a Community Creator

by | Sep 11, 2022 | Sunday Scripture

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

It was a normal Thursday morning as I got ready to leave for work that day. I was talking to my mother on the phone about what our plans were for the day and I mentioned that we had a couple of friends coming over for dinner that evening. “Oh good!” my mom said, sounding much more pleasantly surprised than I figured she would. I hung up with her and continued to think about why she might have sounded so surprised… then it dawned on me—we hardly ever have people over during the week. 

Both my husband and I work very full schedules during the week so times to meet with friends during the week are few and far between and, quite frankly, not something we prioritize if we can just meet with them on the weekend. This time however, it had sounded fun to have company over on a week night and everything had fallen into place quite easily. 

I want to be someone that always welcomes people into my home—really I do! And not just on weekends… Naturally all this started me thinking about how we are supposed to have community, how we are supposed to be intentional about building community, and being in our community. So much of the discussion within the church today focuses on being in community—within the church. But what about building a community within your neighborhood and city? 

One of our good family friends is a great community builder. She lived for years in a little house (tiny by the standards of most houses today) and had a nice, but modest backyard. She was always inviting people to her home! Bible studies, large gatherings of a huge variety of people and neighbors. Then she moved a few years ago, far enough away that she had to start rebuilding her community. And she’s been doing it! It is the everyday opportunities like inviting the neighbors over when she’s having a cookout for her granddaughter’s birthday. It is helping connect neighbors in the winter when there’s a big snowstorm and the neighbor needs a plow and the one with the plow could use some cash that plowing would provide. It’s taking one of the many vegetables over to another neighbor in the summer when the garden is producing faster than food can be picked, preserved, and put away. These are the things that build community. 

Today, the date this post is being published, is the 21st anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the twin towers in New York City. We saw a powerful representation of community that day and over the days and weeks that followed as people banded together to help piece back their lives. Oftentimes this was stranger-helping-stranger, communities being built out of ruin. 

In the first church Paul was a great community builder. We see this in his letters when he lists off all the people he wants to greet—many of these are people he hadn’t even met yet! Correspondence had been passed between him and these members and even before he arrived in some of the regions. He had started to build a community. Imagine being a community creator like that! 

How can you start to create community where you are today? Can you connect people with other people to help meet mutual needs? Can you babysit for the single mother in your neighborhood? Can you host a game night or have a campfire and invite your neighbors to stop by? All of these things help build community and, most importantly, all of these things allow us a chance to show Christ’s love through us, and that is something Christians are called to do.

Other Posts You May Enjoy: 

The Thief of All Joy

Time to Feel the Seasons

Our Words Have Power

Disclosure 

Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!

How to Save Money on Groceries

How to Save Money on Groceries

by | Sep 8, 2022 | Homemaking, Recipes


We are all talking about how much things (namely gas and food) have gone up and how much they are continuing to go up at the present moment. While there may be no end in sight to these increases, and while we may have no control over how much they go up, we have some control over how much food we buy, and there are some things we can do to help mitigate the rising costs of food.

Meal Plan

I don’t know how people live who don’t meal plan! I know they do because my mother doesn’t meal plan and I don’t remember too many instances of going hungry as a child- so it can be done- but a meal plan solves soo many problems! You can read all about my weekly meal planning and food prepping in this post (how I meal prep so I basically only cook once a week) but here are some tips for making a meal plan.

Look In Your Fridge

Do you have a bunch of spinach that’s about to go bad? Maybe it’s time to make a big pot of soup with spinach before it can expire!

Keep a Clean Fridge

I realized the other day (a little too late) that we currently have 3 open jars of pasta sauce in our fridge. The shelf in my fridge where I keep all the open jar items is a tad (wayyy) too cluttered and therefore we can’t see what we have and multiple items get opened leading to higher waste. If you (and me!) keep a tidier fridge then you can see what you have and this kind of waste doesn’t happen!

Freeze

If you come across something in your fridge that’s about to go bad and that you can’t use, please throw it out.
Speaking of throwing out, do you find yourself throwing out the same thing week after week? If so then you probably can stop buying it.

Use the Same Protein Multiple Ways

Try repurposing the same protein throughout the week if you will: start with a whole chicken in the crockpot on Monday, chicken stuffed croissants on Tuesday, chicken enchiladas on Wednesday, chicken Caesar salads on Thursday and homemade chicken BBQ Pizza on Friday! Yes you may start to tire of chicken by Friday but you can switch up your protein the next week, and this way you save by 1) using all of the chicken before it goes bad, and 2) only buying one protein, and buying it in bulk so it’s cheaper!

Plan around deals

Every week, stores send out flyers advertising what they have on sale. Do you ever look at these? These are usually the best deals on food you’ll find. Then plan your meals around these items, or simply use it as an opportunity to stock up while things are at a lower price- don’t go crazy buying more than you’ll ever use though!

It can be a pain to go to different stores to get the best price but a lot of times it is worth it; what’s more is many stores will match their competitors’ prices for the same exact item! It has to be the exact same thing so be sure to look at the details before asking one store to honor another store’s pricing. Many of these sales are while supplies last but not all of them. If you go to the store for the advertised item and they are out, try asking and see if you can have a raincheck, meaning the store will honor the advertised pricing when they get the item back in stock, sometimes this works!

Buy in Bulk

Buying in bulk can be a way to go broke saving money, and a way to over buy but if you have staple items that you regularly eat (I’m looking at you ramen noodles!) you can often save money buying things in bulk. I don’t just mean buying at Costco or Sam’s Club, sometimes a store will give you a discount if you buy a whole case of an item, like peanut butter, granola bars, or tortilla’s. Talk to a manager and find out!

Coupons

I’m not a big fan of coupons but they are a very valid way to save- especially if you like name brand items! Once again look over the weekly coupons and take these into account when doing your meal planning.

Shop at the Cheapest store

Nationally, Aldi tends to be the most inexpensive grocery store, followed by Costco, then Walmart. Meanwhile don’t neglect your mom and pop stores and farm markets as they often have great deals and it supports the local economy and often the food from these places tends to be fresher meaning it will last longer, and therefore you will throw out less.

apples

Eat in Season

As mentioned above, eating things that are in season means they will be cheaper and following the seasons in your region is a great way to add variation to your meals. We all get into meal ruts, try browsing your local farmers market to see what item you’ve forgotten about and see how you can incorporate it!

Quit the Junk Food

We know junk food and baked goods aren’t the best for us, but we still end up buying them. Instead try making your own baked goods; if you can’t bring yourself to spend the time making them how important are they to you really?

Buy frozen

It amazes me how much cheaper frozen fruit is than fresh. This goes for some frozen vegetables as well. Many times frozen will work just as well if not better (in a smoothie for example) so try buying frozen if you consume a lot of fresh fruit!

Canned

Same thing goes for canned as frozen- it can be a great way to save, and if you are buying these items for a soup it can be a much more reasonable option!

I know none of these tips are exactly rocket science but it really is all the little things that we can do that add up to big savings!

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

How I Meal Plan and Basically Eliminate Cooking During the Week
Creating a Cleaning Routine
My Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Sitting with Others in Their Sorrow

Sitting with Others in Their Sorrow

by | Sep 4, 2022 | Sunday Scripture

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 

John 11:33

I like to fill things. It is not my natural tendency to leave blank space—anywhere! I like to fill in the areas of my house but I know the eye likes blank space for rest. I like to fill my calendar but over the years I have learned I do best when I don’t fill it to the brim. I need breathing room for my soul. I like to fill the silences but I learned that sometimes it is best when I leave silence. 

I never know what to say to someone who is grieving. Do I try to say something? Will it be the wrong thing? Do I not say anything and risk them thinking I don’t care? How much is just enough to say? I try to avoid the clichés but sometimes they feel like the right thing to say: “I’m so sorry, that’s so hard. I can’t imagine.” But all those seem appropriate to me! 

A few years ago, right after my grandfather died, I remember telling one of my friends the news. “Oh I hate that!” she exclaimed. That was it. I agreed. It was just the right amount of words for her to say and it was all that really needed said because it was so true—I hated it too! It felt like my friend felt my pain, that she sat with me in it. We didn’t dwell on my grandfather’s death for a long time, but just long enough. 

I am reminded of the passage in the Bible wherein Lazarus dies. Jesus takes His time going to His friends and Lazarus’s sisters, Mary and Martha. The sisters don’t understand what took so long. Why didn’t Jesus come quickly? Didn’t He care? Martha says as much to Jesus when he arrives. (You have to love that about Martha—say what you will about her but you never have to wonder what is going through her mind!). Jesus tells Martha that Lazarus was just resting which probably had her scratching her head because they knew Lazarus was dead—they had put him in the ground themselves! But then Jesus weeps. He sits with the sisters in their pain. Then He raises Lazarus from the dead. 

Why did Jesus sit and weep with the sisters? Why didn’t He just go and raise Lazarus? There are a lot of possible answers to this question that we will never know but part of me thinks Jesus did it because He knew we would need an example. We would need an example of someone to just sit with us in our sorrow. I think He knew that we would need the example of someone who would just say, “Yeah, this is hard. It hurts. I hate it.” and then just sit with us and feel our pain. He could have told the sisters that it would all be okay (because it really would in this case!). He could have told them He knew how they felt. He could have said and done so many things but all He did at first was sit and weep.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us,” for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” We don’t like pain and as humans we do everything we can to avoid it. But some pain, like the death of a loved one, is unavoidable in this life. When pain comes to us, or someone we know, sometimes we just need to sit in it. To feel the pain and let it start to run its course. Sometimes all we need is someone to sit with us. 

Other Posts You May Enjoy: 

The Comfort of a Friend

It’s a Stupid House

His Promises

Disclosure 

Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!

Being Seen 

Being Seen 

by | Aug 28, 2022 | Sunday Scripture

Therefore Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 

Romans 15:7

I didn’t know my husband’s grandmother well; she passed away within a year of when we started dating so I only met her a handful of times. I remember that she was really tiny, really sweet, and had a very friendly smile. I remember one other thing too…

It was approximately one week into my relationship with my then-boyfriend, now-husband, and he wanted to take me to a family picnic to meet his family—I had yet to meet his father and brothers. It was just supposed to be a small family picnic, or so I thought! 

We were on the way to our local state park and I was grilling him on who all exactly was going to be there. It turned out that not only was his immediate family coming to this picnic, none of whom I had yet met, but also all of his aunts, uncles, grandma, and cousins on his dad’s side of the family. Basically it was a family reunion. We played Frisbee, ate lots of good food, and then as we finished dinner, guitars started appearing, seemingly out of nowhere, and the whole family launched into a gospel music singalong. I thought this stuff only happened on TV! All the times when I had inwardly rolled my eyes at my own grandmother asking if we had singalongs around the campfire (no one does that anymore I had thought!) came back to me in a rush as the scene unfolded before my eyes. 

When it started to grow late, everyone started packing up and his grandmother was whisked off to get into the car with several of his aunts who were taking her home. Someone touched me on the sleeve and said that his grandmother had asked to say goodbye to me. I walked over to the car and she gripped my hand tightly, smiling, and said how nice it was to meet me. That was it. But it was more than she needed to do. It was more than a lot of people, anxious to get home, would have done. 

She didn’t know we would end up getting married. She didn’t know I would eventually have her great grandson. But she knew and valued making me feel seen, loved, and accepted—all with the simple squeeze of my hand, the courtesy of expressly saying goodbye to me. Maybe that doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to you, but it reminds me of something Jesus would do. He was good at making people feel seen and loved. 

Remember that story—Jesus was in a crowd of people and the woman who had been bleeding for many years reached out and touched his garment, hoping to be healed. And she was! Jesus turned and asked who had touched Him. He could have just let it go—it was an inconvenience to stop, but He wanted to call out the person who had faith that just touching His garment would heal her. 

Then there’s the story of the little children—the disciples rebuked them and told them to go away, but Jesus said, “Let them come to me.”  Jesus cared about everyone—no one was too small or insignificant. He made everyone feel that He cared, and he really did. He didn’t make people feel like assignments or tasks. He made them feel like people.

I think it was kind of like what Mahatma Gandhi must have been thinking when he uttered those sad words: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” I don’t want to be one of those Christians but I know I have been. I know there have been times when I have been too busy rushing and have let opportunities slip to make someone feel seen. I know I have rushed my husband when he was talking so I could hurry off to bed for the evening. I know I have forgotten how important it can be to pause and do that little act of kindness that makes one feel special and loved and valued by God. 

Other Posts You May Enjoy: 

Our Uniqueness 

In Your Plenty

The Moment for Which You Were Created

Disclosure 

Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!

Books to Learn More About You

by | Aug 25, 2022 | Book Nook

We all love learning more about ourselves—yes, you know you do! But it can also be so overwhelming! There are so many books on the topic, ranging from the highly technical no-fun-to-read type, to the ones that are so general all you get is confused. There’s also the issue that reading a bunch of books just to learn more about yourself can feel selfish. What good does it do to know more about ourselves? Does learning about ourselves really help us interact with others better? Those topics and many more are discussed in the following books:

Disclosure 

Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!

Reading People

by Anne Bogel


I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this book but I really enjoyed it! I was afraid it would be a little too basic. I’m fairly familiar with a lot of the personality frameworks and I was afraid this would not quite reach deep enough for me. However, this book turned out to be an enjoyable overview/refresher of the different personality frameworks, as well as several I’m not very familiar with. I also learned that I might be a “highly sensitive person,” which is something new that I didn’t think I quite fit the bill of, but after reading more about it, I think I am a highly sensitive person—and boy that explains a lot!

If you are just starting to learn about the different personalities, this book is a great jumping off point and from there you can decide which framework you are most interested in learning more about!

The Four Tendencies

by Gretchen Rubin

The Four Tendencies is the only framework that I’m aware of (not that I am an expert by any means) that Anne Bogel did not mention in Reading People. While The Four Tendencies isn’t as recognized as the other frameworks, I think it is highly valuable as it is pretty easy to recognize the different types which makes it easier to learn how to interact with each type. This is a great book and should be mandatory reading for every office, as I think it would help solve a lot of conflicts—or at least show why these conflicts keep happening! I wrote a more in-depth post about The Four Tendencies; read that post here.

The Road Back to You

by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile

This book talks in depth about the Enneagram. The Enneagram is a personality framework that is a little more in-depth and complicated than some of the others; it sheds much valuable insight into why we act the way we do, and what we are looking for with these actions. It talks about what each of the numbers that represent the personality types look like (there are nine main types) and what each of these types looks like when they function out of a healthy place vs an unhealthy place. This book will help you to identify which type you are and help you realize what you need to do to become emotionally healthier in that place.

The Five Love Languages

by Gary Chapman


What makes you feel loved might not make someone else feel loved and if you don’t understand how to make someone close to you feel loved, then they may doubt that you do in fact love them. In this book Gary Chapman details the five different ways that people perceive love. Everyone is a combination of languages but you will have a primary love language, as Chapman calls it. If you are not familiar with The Five Love Languages, I would get your hands on this as soon as possible—your relationships are bound to improve as a result.