The second you walked into my Grandma Cora’s house you could smell the fragrance of onions, ginger, and garlic sautéing. She would swirl pancit noodles in her big pot and you could hear the music of the carrots and celery dancing as she added a splash of soy sauce.y No matter what time of day – morning, noon, or night – Grandma always had [...] Keep Reading
creativity
Book review: Rhythms of Rest
My middle daughter and I cuddle up on the chaise part of our big blue couch. We each hold fluffy balls of yarn in our lap with wooden knitting needles. I’ve chosen a golden-mustard color today and Giada has her favorite light turquoise yarn. Before long, you can hear the click of the needles as we knit, purl, knit, purl in neat rows. This has [...] Keep Reading
Discovering the dignity of work
I traveled to Haiti in the summer of 2011 with my family to begin directing a non-profit in the growing town of Pignon. During a bumpy truck ride from the Port-Au-Prince airport to the northern mountains, our Haitian director Peter shared with me his vision to provide jobs for women who were part of his church. He had a burden for these families [...] Keep Reading
{Summer Blog Swap} Creative ways to work through a spiritual funk
Welcome to my Summer Blog Swap. Over the next four weeks I am inviting four of my blogger friends over to this space to share some of their posts and perspectives. It's a fun way to introduce some of my favorite people to all of you. This week I'd like you to meet my friend Natalie Guy. We met through a writing group called Hope*writers. Natalie is [...] Keep Reading
Instant Pot Filipino Garlic Fried Rice: A creative way to celebrate friendship
A few of my favorite things are good food and celebrating my people. A few months ago, my friend's husband enlisted me to help plan a 40th birthday party for her. Bev's desire was to gather together with a small group of girlfriends and cook up a fabulous dinner together. Then she wanted to invite the husbands to join us around the table to enjoy [...] Keep Reading
Book Review: Holy Hustle: Embracing a work-hard, rest-well life
Do you need to work harder? Do you need to rest more? What shapes your ideas about work? What if you could redeem hustle for God’s glory? These are just a few of the questions Crystal Stine is tackling in her newly-released book, Holy Hustle. Crystal presents a challenging and refreshing examination of the roles of work and rest in our lives. [...] Keep Reading