Well-Seasoned Sunday’s #7

July 24, 2022

Hello, favorites! Well, summer is in full swing around here and I have been busy adding tons of new summer recipes to my blog. Truly, I wish I had at least one day a week where I could just get away and blog because there is just so much on my heart to share. Actually, I have started building the framework for a blog series on educating children called Train Up A Child. Stay tuned. I am really excited to branch out on topics like education, finance, healing, and identity now that I have a good base and have seasoned a year on my blog. In reaching my 100 posts goal, I really feel I’ve laid a good foundation that I am excited to build on and expand.

Additionally, I am also on my way to completing my Intermediate-level Herbal Certification by November. It is a 90-hour course, through the Herbal Academy, that I hope will enrich my posts and help me resource you better in the future. Ultimately, I want to add value to your lives and share with you all the things that have helped me in my own life. 

Books I am Reading:

I actually just finished two books on audible. For pleasure, I totally was consumed by the beautiful words and fascinating storyline of Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing. I love a good mystery/thriller but I don’t want the scary or twisted imagery that usually accompanies them. Surprisingly, this book was pretty clean with some good messages and contrasts in character. I thoroughly enJOYed it. 

Now a major motion picture– the book is sooo much better. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the movie too, it’s just the book has such beautiful descriptions, more thorough development of the plot and characters, and an inner dialog that takes your breath away. There are a few scenes that to some would be questionable. Consider yourself warned. My eyes are always looking for redemption, so I may miss a few details that others are sensitive to. My apologies. But in general, the book is now one of my favorites and right up there with E.D.E.N.’s Hidden Hand and Francine River’s Redeeming Love. I actually can’t wait to read it again. 

The second book I consumed in a day was Dr. Benjamin Hardy’s, Be Your Future Self Now. All I can say is WOW! Unfortunately, I do wish I had purchased a physical copy of this book so I could take notes and journal about the material. Powerful perspective. I love all his stuff, but this was exceptional. 

So many books, so little time, but that is what is so wonderful about summer. It is so important to make sure to have “unscheduled” time for reading and creative play instead of filling every minute with purposeful activity. The gift of time is one of the summer’s greatest gifts.

Quote, I am Pondering: 

“And my God shall supply ALL your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19. Learning to trust my God at a deeper level. He is good, faithful, and desires us to believe His Word. 

Product I am enJOYing: 

My cousin was here for a quick visit from Napa, California and she brought me a delicious-smelling organic Lavender & Eucalyptus Body Wash by Bella Massimo Organics. They are a Christian company based in Napa with exceptionally clean body products. She is friends with the owners and often supplies me with amazing samples. Check them out! I have never used a product with eucalyptus before and the smell is amazing. I literally can’t wait to lather up in the shower each evening before bed. 

What we are Eating: 

As I said, I have been busy posting all our favorite summer recipes. Tonight, I had to laugh. It was 7 pm and dinner was just coming out of the oven. The kids lined up with their plates in hand at the oven door. As I set the baking sheet down, I stopped them in their tracks from grabbing their Hamburger-by-the- yard. “Wait! I have to get a picture first,” I warned. My daughter didn’t miss a beat. She smiled and chimed in, “Oh, the life of a blogger’s kid. Always starving. Waiting for the picture.” I had to laugh. They love my blogging and they are getting used to waiting for the picture.

Anyway, this week we have been eating Summer Panzanella Salad, Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup, Summer Sunshine Shrub, Blueberry & Peach Galette, and my favorite Gravenstein Apple Crisp…a little early this year. Oh, how I love the fresh and simple flavors of summer. Check out the recipes and enJOY!

How we are Playing: 

Check out my post 50 Ways to Savor the Summer Season with Family for fresh ideas to make sweet memories together this summer.

Ways we Can Love: 

It is SO hot here in Tennessee in the summer so we have been looking for ways to keep occupied indoors. Not even the garden wants to be outside in the summer heat. Family read-alouds are the best way to gather everyone together from their corners to snuggle up on the couch or gather around the table with a bowl of popcorn and a good story. Right now we have been enJOYing the Newberry Honor Book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. I read it to my older three when they were younger and they always referenced it, so I pulled it out this summer to read to my younger three. It is a delightful tale of a girl on a journey to find gratitude and the realization that she has wealth all around her if she only has eyes to see. Totally recommend it!

Living Holistically: 

Summer is a time for playing out of doors. Unfortunately in the south, that means bug bites, hopefully not snake bites, bare feet, and splinters. For aiding in removing the sting, the itch, the venom, or the splinters, I always turn to my Drawing Salve. Formulated with plantain oil, activated charcoal, healing bentonite clay, oregano, and frankincense essential oils to draw out foreign substances. 

That’s it for this Well-Seasoned Sunday. I would love your response, what things you are interested in knowing, and what lights you up… let’s keep the conversation going!

Rebecca

Remember…

In everything you do -eat, play, and, love- may it always be Seasoned with Joy!