Winter Approaches...

Winter is on its way. There have been multiple frosty morning in the last couple of weeks which have been gorgeous and chilly.

Getting up early has been harder too as the inviting warmth of my bed covers implore me not to leave!

This Winter, I want to embrace the season for all its gloomy grey days and look for the beauty in it. I want to use the season to embrace a restful routine and enjoy the comfort of my cosy home.

Winter is not my favourite season but I want to try to enjoy it all the same.

I want to spend my days working on projects, reading, drinking hot cups of tea, and getting outside as much as the weather allows. Fresh air is so important especially in the cold months where the Winter illnesses hit!

All that aside, I have something I am super excited about to share with you! 

I began a YouTube channel!  My first video is by no means perfect but I am pretty happy with how it turned out. 

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

As well this announcement, I have a few other updates I want to mention .

I am going to end my monthly favourites posts and instead put together a post every few months with my recent favourites.

These 'Lately' posts will still include many of the content that my monthly posts include but just few and far between.

I am posting only once a week now, on Wednesdays instead of my previous twice weekly schedule to allow for more freedom and time for other pursuits.

I am not going to stick to a strict schedule for my YouTube channel, but rather post whenever I feel like doing so.

I don't want these 'hobbies' of mine to become habitual and tiresome so I'd rather not put restrictions on myself and just have fun with it.

keep blooming,

A Season of Abiding in Christ

I am going to warn you now, this will be a long post so grab your self a hot drink and settle down!

Imagine we are sitting in my lounge together, sipping delicious cups of tea or coffee, chatting like girls do and having a heart to heart. That is what I want this post to be like!

So sister, in this post I am opening up to you and sharing my heart. It's going to be raw & real but I hope you feel encouraged, inspired and hopeful by the end of it.

Let me rewind to a couple weeks ago.

I was pretty happy with where I was in life, until one night, I had a dream about a guy that I admire which stirred up a whole lot of thoughts, feelings & desires.

In the following days I felt restless & discontent with where I was. 

I looked at other girls, some even just a few years older than me, who were in romantic relationships. 

I wished I had what they had.

I reached out to my mum, and other girls for advice. I wanted answers. I wanted direction, to know how to move forward.

Slowly but surely, God started to reveal to me what I should do, namely, to seek Him first.

I began in my search for answers & advice by reading Elisabeth Elliot's book, Passion & Purity. 

That books shifted my focus. The story of Elisabeth & Jim Elliot is one that reflects Jesus so clearly and points to Him over and over again. After finishing it (which I did in a matter of days), I had hope and assurance that everything will happen in God's timing for He knows what is best for me.

But my journey doesn't and didn't end there. God was teaching me an important lesson.

I must stress the importance of reaching out to older, godly women in a time and season like this. If you too, face this struggle today don't hesitate to confide in your mother, grandmother, aunt, trusted friend, or another wise woman you know. They have sailed through these rough waters before and can offer you helpful advice and cover you in powerful prayer. I am so grateful for my own mother, grandmother and a few older sisters in Christ that have poured into my life in the last few years and helped me grow through times like this one.

While talking to older women who have already experienced these desires and longings is important, there is also great solace in sharing to girls in your own age group who may be going through exactly what you're going through. I was 'surprised' to find many other girls understood my sentiments and shared the same longings & desires, as well as the struggles with how to handle them.

Moving on in my journey over the last few weeks. I was still unsure of exactly what to do. 

I had a second dream one night. I woke up and just lay there, wishing that I had not dreamed it. 

Something I never thought of till someone pointed it out once, was that you can and should uplift your dreams (the type you have awhile you're sleeping) to God and ask Him to guard you from dreams that don't line up with Philippians 4:8. So I prayed for a few nights that God would guard my dreams while I slept and it helped!

Many of the girls who shared their advice all agreed on one thing. That prayer and continually digging into scripture was THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to do in a season such as this.

The Bible itself says, in Matthew 6:33, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

We are to have no other gods before the One True God, even relationships and desires that we have.

And I want to make myself clear, that I believe the desire for a husband and a romantic relationship is God given. If we didn't have that desire, no one would marry and there would be no future generations!

So in and of itself the desire for marriage is good. But if it distracts from our relationship with the Lord, its a problem.

It is now 22nd of May as I write this. I feel like I am in a better place now than I was a few weeks ago.

I want to share all the things I have done or am doing to help keep my focus on Christ in this season!

1. Contentment by Lydia Brownback

This devotional was the perfect thing for this season of my life. It is full of truth about contentment and where you truly find it--in Jesus. I have really enjoyed each chapter so far and it has really helped me discover that contentment is a choice, not something we feel based on our circumstances.

2. Studying contentment/satisfaction in the Bible

I went online and made a short list of specific passages & verse that speak about these topics and I am studying them slowly. My absolute favourite has been Isaiah 58:11.

3. Coffee & Bible Time PDF Prayer Journal (link)

This has been an amazing resource and has really helped my with establishing prayer into my life.

It has helped my to pray regularly, keep track of my prayers and keep things structured.

4. Sticking scripture reminders all around my room

I have verses almost everywhere I look in my room and they serve as constant reminders of God's truth!

5. Worship music (link)

I have created a Spotify playlist specific to this season of my life. It is called Surrender and is full of songs that sing of God's love for me, surrendering everything to the Lord & turning your eyes on Jesus.

6. Nurture the friendships you have with other sisters in Christ

It brought me so much joy this afternoon writing letters to my girlfriends and decorating the envelopes to send to them! 

Take the time to pour into these relationships and treasure them, girls! God has blessed me with so many wonderful friends and I can't wait to see the memories we will make in the future as we grow in grace together.

7. Pursue creative hobbies or activities that bring you joy

Think about it. We are young now. We don't have a husband or family to care for so we have the time for these creative pursuits. I personally love knitting, painting, reading, scrapbook journaling, and a few other things. 

8. Scripture writing

Basically scripture writing is when you copy down large passages of scripture into a notebook. I think this will be a great way to implant more scripture into my mind & heart.

9. Love Defined by Bethany Beal & Kristen Clark

I read this book last year and I decided to make it a yearly read. I plan to read it again soon!

Love Defined offers so much helpful advice for one's love life and biblical truth. 

10. Coffee & Bible Time Podcast S2 Ep.3 - Finally being content in singleness (link)

 I really liked this podcast episode and I found it quite helpful. Ashley shares a bit about her current season, her intentional year of singleness, and things she has done to find contentment during her singleness.

What would you add to this list?

Lets chat in the comments!

keep blooming,

My Sourdough Experience

I have been keeping a sourdough starter for a little over a year now. It has been fun (and frustrating at times) experimenting with different recipes and learning little tips and tricks along the way.

My family isn't new to eating sourdough. We eat sourdough breads on a daily basis (ordered in a great big box from a bakery) and I actually get an unpleasant reaction to normal supermarket breads so I like to stick to sourdough & organic breads.

So last year I decided I wanted to try making my own and my sourdough starter was born!

You might be asking, "what is a sourdough starter?" 

Sourdough starter is a fermented mixture of flour and water containing a colony of microorganisms including wild yeast and lactoacilli. 

This fermented starter is the rising agent in sourdough bread and also develops a wonderful flavor. 

Sourdough bread is healthier for you as well because it has a low glycemic index, making it easier to digest. If you want more info on the science behind sourdough, feel free to do your research, but for now that is my brief explanation! 

For my starter, I used the instructions on Lisa's blog Farmhouse on Boone(link).

I kept my first starter for almost a year, but at the beginning of this year while I was away from home, my starter was thrown away by accident so I had to start all over again.

Here is my current sourdough starter (my second one) that I have had for over a month.
It is happy, bubbly and active and I have made several breads with it already.
Now, I will note that I am by no means an expert! To be completely honest, I haven't had a ton of success with any of the breads I have made.
I am still working on getting it right and perfecting my technique. But with practice, I hope to bake a perfect loaf one day.

Sourdough bread requires more tender loving care than your normal yeast breads so be patient with it. It takes longer to make, rise and bake but it is totally worth it!

Like with a lot of things and especially anything worth doing, making sourdough bread at home takes a lot of practice. I know this first hand as I have made sourdough bread a significant amount of times and I still haven't gotten the technique down.

When it comes to maintaining my starter, I have been experimenting with feeding my sourdough starter and I think I have found what works best for me.
What I like to do is feed it 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of filtered water, then mix well. 
My starter lives next to the oven where it stays pretty warm. Temperature plays a key part in the well-being of your starter, so you want to make sure yours is kept nice and warm. 

I just place a little square of fabric over the mouth of my jar to allow for air to go through but keeping the bugs out. 

Rescources:

How To Care For A Sourdough Starter

The Best Beginner Sourdough Bread Recipe 

So that is a little glimpse into my sourdough journey so far. I'm still learning and I am by no means a professional!  But I enjoy it and that is what matters. 

The process, the journey, is what makes it appealing for me. It takes time but it is worth doing because of the result. 

Let me know if you try making your own sourdough starter!

keep blooming,

Holy Hunger & Satisfaction in Christ

Psalm 63 has been a favourite of mine for a while. 

I have read it over and over and studied it in-depth a year or so ago. 

As I am reading through Psalms at the moment, I reached Psalm 63 and got to take a deeper look at it again.

What never ceases to amaze me, is how no matter how many times you return to a passage of scripture, you can always come away with something new!

So this time as I read the words of the psalmist David, new things dawned on me and in the season I am in right now the meaning of this psalm became more precious to me.

I was so refreshed by what I learned I simply had to share a few points with you. I also highly suggest you study this psalm yourself, especially if you don't feel like getting into the word during this season of your life.

David writes these words when he is in the wilderness of Judah. He was in a desperate situation, he was most likely tired, thirsty and hungry. But instead of complaining about his fleshly needs, he makes holy complaints, pleas for spiritual food & water.

He knows that feeding his soul is more important that feeding his body. So He cries out to God!

There are three main references to the soul in the passage.

My soul thirsts for You

My soul shall be satisfied

My soul follows hard after You

I took a closer look at these three statements and learned some wonderful things!

1. My soul THIRSTS for You

The meaning of thirst is to have a strong desire for something, to feel dry, to have one's heart set on something. 

This should be my heart for God. A constant holy hunger. To feel dry without Him, to have my heart set on knowing Him.

(Ps 42:1-2, Mat 6:33, Hosea 5:15)

I must be diligent in soaking my soul in the water of the word daily. 

2. My soul shall be SATISFIED

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food. (Ps 63:5)

Satisfied means contented, fulfilled, enjoyment, pleasure & comfort.

David knows that it is only in God that his soul will be satisfied. He knows that God alone can satisfy his longing soul.

For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107:9

3. My soul CLINGS to You

To cling means to hold on tight, to remain close, cleave, grasping and embracing.

God never leaves us, so if we 'feel' distant from God it is because we did not remain close, or hold on tight to His promises (one of which is that He will never leave us nor forsake us!).

This psalm paints a picture of what it is to have a holy hunger & thirst. That thirst is for righteousness (Mat 5:6).

I also sensed a sort of cycle depicted in this psalm. 

Our souls thirst or long for something (God) but we often choose to fill it with other things. 

When we chose to fill and feed that thirst with God and His word we become truly satisfied. The more satisfied we become in Christ, the more we cling/cleave to Him because we know we will not experience such peace or contentment anywhere else. We thirst for Him more and more because once we have tasted and seen that He is good, our souls crave more and more. And so the cycle continues!

I hope that made sense! These are real and raw notes from my journal so I'm not sure that they always make sense to anyone other than myself! 

I hope this post encouraged you and please read and study this psalm for yourself!

keep blooming,

Afternoon Tea Book Tag

Hello darlings!

As usual I wasn't actually tagged to do this tag but I found it somewhere and thought it would be fun to do. And it is about time I did another one, which it was I always say!
I love that it combines food and books together because I for one do enjoy having a snack and a cup of tea while I read sometimes.

I think book tags are fun and also a great way to share books that I have read and remind me of books I should reread as you will see!

So, without further ado, let's begin!


Tea - a book you find comfort in

I'd have to say Little Women, and I happen to be rereading it right now. I always find the story so lovely and heart-warming so I love to return to it in movie or book form often!

Scones - something hearty/a big delicious book

I don't often go for big, thick books and this is one of the only bigger books I have read. But I wound't have it any other way because I really enjoyed this one and it even gave me a mini book hangover! Talking about it now makes me want to pick it up again soon...

Clotted Cream - a book you didn't like at first but ended up loving
For this prompt, I have to say a series instead of just one book and it may be a bit surprising!
I love this series now but at the beginning, Christy got on my nerves. But as I carried on through the books, she grew up and matured and I enjoyed them more. Now me and my sister like to fangirl about all the sweet or funny moments.

Finger Sandwiches - a book you like but that's not quite satisfying
I'm going to say Worth the Wait by Karen Witemeyer. I quite enjoyed the whole Ladies of Harper Station series (however cliche it may be!) and I was wanting a story about Ben and Victoria since I was first introduced to them. So when I discovered that there was a novella about them I was pleased.
Unfortunately, though I was glad to have at least a small story on them, it was so short that it didn't quite satisfy my reading appetite.

Jam - your favourite pair/characters who are just sweet together
This is hard! But I think I'm going to go with Mary & Jem from Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell.
Theirs is one of those love stories in which one of the parties has always loved the other but never confessed it. Jem has secretly admired Mary since they met as children and though their story has many ups and downs, I 'd say the ending is quite satisfactory and sweet.

Six Petit Fours - a favourite short story book
I am not sure if this prompt is meant to mean a book of short stories or just a short book. But I am going to say its the later because I don't often read short story collections.

An Eagle in the Snow by Michael Morpurgo is my pick for this prompt. Morpurgo's books are so wonderful yet so short. Yet he manages to write such compelling little stories that stick with you.
I must reread this one soon!

Strawberries & Cream - a dynamic duo
Using Little Women again...because for this prompt I think I'll say Jo & Laurie. I do think that Laurie and Amy make a good couple and don't truly believe Jo and Laurie would have made a good couple. But there is no denying that that have something special between them that is quite endearing.


Your favourite tea cup - a beautiful character too pure for this world
Beth...from Little Women! Sorry, but she was the only one that came to mind and I think we can all agree that her quiet spirit and pure, kind heart is simply beautiful.

What are your thoughts on my answers for this tag?
Do you enjoy eating and reading combined or is that a no-no for you?

keep blooming,

April Favourites

Hello darlings!

As you might already know, I have changed my posting day to Wednesday so I think I'll try to post  my monthly favourites on the last day of the month or thereabouts. We'll see how this new schedule works out.

This month was mostly spent at home with our country in lockdown. But it was a good month for me.
I did did a bunch of projects and cooking/baking.
This autumn has been amazing so far, so many sunny days. For more Autumny content, read my last post! 


So let's hop right in to my April favourites!


BOOKS 

I have a lot of books on the go at the moment and I finished a few during the month of April.
~ Daughter of Rome by Tessa Afshar
~ The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
~ The Heart Between Us by Lindsay Harrel

I enjoyed all of these books but I think Daughter of Rome would be my favourite out of the three.

MUSIC & PODCASTS

I have been listening to a lot of music this month. I'll leave some of my favourite playlists/songs below.

~ slow playlist

~ Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver

~ STILL by Rend Collective

~ Jesus, Strong & Kind by CityAlight

~ Cool with Being Crazy by Willow City

MOVIES

The Chosen : The Series

This is honestly THE. BEST TV. SHOW. I have ever seen! You have to watch it!
It is a Jesus show but unlike any other screen portrayal of Jesus' life we have ever seen. The Chosen brings out Jesus' humanness, Jewishness and loving kindness in such a touching way, it's incredible.
We get to see his miracle and ministry as it takes of in Season 1 through the eyes of those who witnessed it, Matthew, Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, Andrew and the rest.
Season 1 is available for FREE on YouTube right now or you can stream it for the app. But do yourself a favor and watch, will you?


FASHION & BEAUTY

This month I have been enjoying getting out my woolly knits and wearing them when the weather gets cooler.
I also have loved this skirt and the autumn vibes it has!

Let me know in the comments what your favourite movie or TV show was this month!

keep blooming,