Can't wait to live here. My heart is full.

for a while i always wanted my hair to be glossy and to look polished. but then i realized, i'm not very polished and my hair was made for a little frizz. that's okay.

How to Come Home (For Beginners):

STEP ONE: WEEP

-Cry when you are packing your bags

-Cry a lot when you are saying goodbye to one of your favorite people at the airport and then it all feels real

-Cry when you see your best friend from home because you don't really know what else to do

-Don't cry for a week because your summer feels like it actually didn't happen to you and you don't want to talk about it

-Cry a week later when you finally watch the slideshow shown on the final night. Then be angry with God and tell Him that  He doesn't know what He is doing because you were really happy and now you're not sure what to do. 

Then read this:

God seems to plant His saints in the most useless places. And then we say "God intends for me to be here because I am so useful to Him." Yet Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that might be. Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

And this:

Crying is all right in its own way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do. C.S. Lewis

Needless to say, I've never had to come home before. I've never had to leave a new place that has become home and leave strangers who have become family. 

It's more difficult than I thought it would be, and honestly I'm not very good at it. 

This isn't to say that I am completely miserable being back or that I haven't had valuable time with my people here because they are too good to my moody self, but it's a weird transition. There is so much I could share about what the Lord has done this summer, but he's still teaching me how to talk about it.

If you supported me at all this summer in prayer or financially or in encouragement, I am eternally grateful for you. God is using people in Chicago to show the love of Christ to that beautiful city, so keep them in your prayers still! I hope to use this blog to still share some of their stories because they re worth hearing. 

THANK YOU!

a wonderful, wonderful week.

What? Two posts in one week. Crazy, I know. But last week was quite possibly one of the best weeks of my life and I should probably write about good things as they come along. I feel like there weren't any ridiculous, extravagant moments in the week, but it was just solid. Here's why.

Sunday started the week off right at a Cubs game. I'm not really that into sports, but baseball games are FUN. Not in the overwhelming kind of way, but in the I'm-going-to-sit-outside-for-a-couple-hours-and- half-heartedly-watch-this-while-talking-to-friends kind of way. And I had a Chicago Dog which was delicious. It was a very American experience.

Perfect Chicago Dog: Poppyseed bun, fresh tomato, relish, peppers, grilled onions. NO KETCHUP.

....and the Cubs won!

This past week my team had the opportunity to serve alongside Bethel House of Prayer as they started off four weeks of VBS. I think VBS is a great way to not only serve the children in your congregation, but provide affordable childcare for everyone in your community. It brings in such a diverse group!

I   L O V E D my group of girls. My teammate, Jessica, and I worked with Primary Girls age six to eight. The first day I was unsure of what to do with all that personality. We went around the table introducing ourselves and saying what we liked to do. Here are some prime examples:

"I'm Serenity and I like to walk the runway." (Poses)

"I'm Jada and I'm a diva."
(Pretends to check her reflection.)

And when one of the leaders, DD, said she liked to shop, a girl responded "You go honey-boo-boo child." Three or four times.

But as the day and week wore on, the sass act quickly wore off to reveal the sweetest and funniest kids. They loved to sing for us (mostly gospel songs and disney) and draw us sweet cards. Everyday I got lots of hugs and big smiles. Everyday was better than the one before.

Yva knows she is cute.

Jessica and I were subbing in for an absent teacher so we got to teach the Bible lessons. It was so fun hearing what they thought about verses and talking to them about Jesus. Especially as the week goes on. You just love them so much that you want them to have a relationship with Christ and to grow up knowing him.

On Thursday, we took a field trip to the park. I was worried the day would drag on, but they are pretty easy to please. I'm telling you, these girls are the best. When they have to wait, they were always patient and loved to talk to each other instead of complaining. However, they did tell me on the two block walk home that their legs were going to fall off. I had no sympathy...

It was really tough to leave on Friday. My hardest goodbye was Shiniya. She was so quiet at the beginning of the week and my goal was for her to open up. Jessica and I gave her lots of attention, and by the end of the week she was dancing and joking and laughing with us. Her laugh was my favorite because it sounded too big to come from her little body and it took over her face.

Shiniya & I

When it was time to go, she hugged me really tight around my neck and I spun her around, but when I put her down she wouldn't move her arms. It was all I could do not to straight up weep when she told me in her quiet voice that she didn't want me to leave.

"This sign means deuces." Thanks, girl. 

"Let me take the picture!"

When the three year old takes over the camera.

I miss these kids a lot already. Please pray for them and the other team that gets to serve at the Bethel VBS this week. And for my team as we get to serve at the Pui Tak Center!

Other great things that happened this week:

COW APPRECIATION DAY.
Should really be a National Holiday. We left home at 6:15 am to get some free chicken before we had to be at our sites. When we first arrived, no one knew it was Cow Appreciation, including most of the employees. People were really amazed by us and random customers were taking our picture. And THERE WAS NO CHICKEN. I sat there like a cow for a while until I was able to order.

Eventually, we got our chicken biscuits and all was well.

Anything for the free chicken.

 

 BEAUTIFUL WARM WEATHER.

On Saturday morning, we handed out water bottles at the Taste of Chicago and got to meet lots of cool people and have solid conversations. For dinner we ate some really good tacos in Wicker Park and walked along the Magnificent Mile. The weather was GLORIOUS and Chicago was really showing off how pretty she is.

I have two and half weeks left here and that's too hard to think about right now. On Thursday, I briefly go home for a Teaching Fellows Conference and so my time has been shortened even more. However, there is still a lot of time left for wonderful things to happen! I hope your week gets off to a great start!

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore 

The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

UPDATE: wow. i am bad at this blogging thing.

If a person has grasped the meaning of God's grace in his heart, he will do justice. If he doesn't live justly, then he may say with his lips that he is grateful for God's grace, but in his heart he is far from him. If he doesn't care about the poor, it reveals that at best he doesn't understand the grace he has experienced, and at worst he has not really encountered the saving mercy of God. Grace should make you just. -tim keller.

Chicago!

I have been here five weeks. WOW. It has gone by extremely fast, but in some ways I feel like I have been here forever. I love this city. The architecture. The unique parks & fun things. The food. 

Most of all, I love the people. (I know that was cheesy and you could probably tell that was coming...)

Honestly, I haven't written on this here blog because I don't know how to write this down wisely. I am still learning a lot and I don't want to write down words that I might see as kind of foolish later. Or that someone else with greater knowledge or experience would read offensively. 

And I know that I can't fully put into words what I have learned because most of it has been done through intense teachings that result in a changed worldview as I have experienced the city.

I'll try to stick with just pictures and brief explanations of what is going on for now :) 

The roomie & me at Navy Pier!

I wrapped up my great trip with my mom and sister. They dropped me off and got to meet my excellent roommate Christina. She really has been so wonderful on this trip. We have found a lot of similarities and we have been super compatible roommates. It's too perfect, really. (Hopefully this isn't one sided... Christina...) 

Our first week felt extremely long. It was a lot of information and we were taking in countless environments. Chicago is divided into over seventy neighborhoods, each one with its own culture. They are pretty segregated when it comes to race, socioeconomic status, and nationality. The city literally transforms block to block. You will be walking in a pretty and populated area, then all of sudden things get sketchy... then the next block is different once again. 

Here's Life Inner City (who I am here with) works with churches and ministries to meet their needs. So it isn't necessarily our organization tackling a project, but us being sent out to help these churches and ministries with whatever they need. And that looks different everywhere. It also includes them sending us to places where we can learn and gather more knowledge about cross-cultural ministry. 

Team: Me, Naomi, Jessica, Hannah, & Felicia

My team is wonderful. I am with four other girls (women?) who are each unique and have taught me a lot. These are the people I am going to sites with every week, which means we share similar struggles and frustrations, but that comes with the opportunity to consistently encourage each other. 

Week 1: My team with our masterpiece, and the VBS director, Victoria

Week Two: Our team helped Edgewater Baptist Church prepare for their VBS. The church is in the Northside and is extremely diverse. The week involved a lot of gardening, cleaning, and crafting. I loved the staff there. They were genuine people whose main goal was to share the love of Christ with kids. It didn't seem forced or ritualistic. Other teams from HLIC have gone and helped with the VBS and they absolutely love what is going on there. It was cool to be a part of the preparation stages and then hear how well everything is going. 

Week Three:  We mostly worked with Salvation Army's Mobile Outreach Team. We traveled with them to hand out soup and bread and make new friends. The truck travels with two counselors that can assist clients with rehabilitation and figuring out financial situations. Most of the time my team was hanging out with Gil and BJ, who drove the truck and managed it all. BJ, for all his silence, had a heart of gold. And Gil was both charming and hilarious. He loves to tell people his story and how God has worked in his life. On Wednesday they treated us to to some Puerto Rican food and good conversation. Every human should eat sweet plantains at least once a day. It was hard to say goodbye to these people!

Yvette, Me, Naomi, Gil, Felicia, & Jessica 

These past couple weeks have been wonderful as well, but if I wrote about them now it wouldn't do it justice. I didn't realize how much I actually had to share until I started writing! I have another early morning tomorrow, otherwise I could write for hours. Tomorrow will be a hard day as I leave some beautiful children behind.

Thanks for reading this and for your prayers and support! Please continue to pray for us!

Pretty, right?

My discipler, Brittnee 

ready.

I have left North Carolina.

I have never been out of the Carolinas for more than ten days in my whole life, and now I'm starting nine weeks of life elsewhere. I thought I would feel more nervous about going to a place where I don't know anyone. I thought I would feel anxious about the months ahead where I will be doing unfamiliar work. But instead, I feel completely and beautifully at peace. I don't think I have felt this much like myself in a while.

Genuinely calm and happy.

I'm excited to learn about a world completely different than my own, even though we live in the same country. People have been very encouraging about my summer, but people also aren't afraid to share how scary and humid Chicago is. However, I have to remind myself that this isn't about me exploring  an unfamiliar city, but answering a call.

He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Deuteronomy 10:18

I'm anticipating the point where I feel lonely and helpless and all I have is Jesus. The situations where I won't have the words, and the Spirit will have to provide. I know that I will working with a team and we all be serving together, and I'm looking forward to all the new friendships.

However, I tend to struggle when there are no familiar faces. I freeze up and don't know how to speak. Without all my family and the constant companionship of my friends, it's me and Jesus. And I really desire that, to be closer to Him because I don't have the safety net of my consistent relationships. This is one of those things that can be taken as hokey and cheesy because "Jesus is my Best Friend" can be seen on t-shirts and cross-stitched onto pillows, but it's real. He is the one that comforts me. The one who whispers encouragement when I'm at my breaking point. It always catches me off guard, how much He actually loves me.

My mom and sister decided to drive me to Chicago, since none of us have been before. Yesterday we made our way through the rainy Tennessee hills, feeling a little bit like storm chasers. Our first stop is Nashville, TN to visit my Great Uncle and be tourists. I haven't been to Nashville since I was a 15 year old girl whose only interest was the mall :)

Amber was convinced we desperately needed a hashtag for our road trip. So we decided on #nowaynenorules. Finally, we are breaking free from Wayne's World. (No offense, Dad...) Our trip will probably consist of lots of coffee, ridiculous conversations, and getting lost. I sure do love them. They've earned it too, always putting up with me.

// The Frothy Monkey: So. Good. //

New York City!

I absolutely love New York City. The first time I went was my senior year of high school on a class trip, and ever since then I have been looking for ways to get back! I flew in Friday morning and met up with some friends, who drove up Thursday. I thought I would exhausted after my long drive back from Florida on Thursday, but I was too excited to be tired! This trip was definitely a quick one, but we like to think we pretty much conquered the city....

We mastered the art of subway modeling. The subway was actually one of my favorite experiences. We saw some extremely talented musicians and dancers, and we always had to stop to watch. We pretty much danced everywhere we went, which (along with our bright colors and backpacks) separated us from being true New Yorkers.

We ate some authentic Chinatown dumplings. So delicious! And five for a dollar?!?!? Can't be beat. 

And some authentic NYC pizza at Joe's.  I absolutely Greenwich village. 

It really was a wonderful trip. Graham's cousin, who we stayed with in Brooklyn, was an excellent host and we wouldn't of gotten such a fresh perspective without him!

Other highlights:

Sneaking in to Central Park Zoo

Escaping the snow in Financier Patisserie

Sneaking in to the Natural Museum of History

The Cobblestone Streets of Lower Manhattan

Lauren S being forced to eat a pepperoni off the NYC streets. GROSS.

Changing for our fancy dinner in the bathroom of a Starbucks (shown in the mirror pic below ;)

Bagels at Bergen Bagels in Brooklyn

YAY! I love y'all.

Life is sweet. My trip to NYC got me even more excited for my summer in Chicago! City life will be it's own new adventure! I can't wait to find places that feel like my own and explore a new city, as well as learning to better love the people in it!

four vanilla cupcakes with cookie butter frosting.

There are some days when I have the urge to bake just so I can feel productive. Making something from scratch always gives me a sense of accomplishment when I have been just a little too lazy.

Wednesday I decided to make cupcakes for my roomies because they deserved a little treat for just being so great all the time. And I wanted to use my cute floral cupcake holders. I was nervous about using almond milk in the cupcakes, but they turned out GREAT! The consistency was fluffy, but somehow still dense? Don't ask me how that happens.

vanilla cupcakes
makes 4

4 egg whites
4 tbsp butter, melted
4 tbsp sugar
1 3/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
3 tbsp almond milk (I used Trader Joe's Original)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

1. Whisk together the eggs and sugar until it has a smooth consistency.
2. Add in vanilla and butter. I kept whisking away but there was still some butter clumps. Mine still turned out great!
3. Add your dry ingredients.
4. Once mixed, add in the milk.
5. Pour your batter into your cute liners (they really do get you excited about baking!)

Bake for 10-15 minutes. Mine took longer than I thought they would, but I would just wait until a toothpick (or if you are a college student who owns nothing, a knife) came out clean.

While your cupcakes are cooling off, prepare your frosting! Luckily my roommate let me use a little bit of her milk!

1/2 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp cookie butter

Combine all the ingredients, except the cookie butter, and beat with a mixer on low. Once mixed, beat everything on high. Once your frosting is smooth, add in your cookie butter! I'm sure you could even try peanut butter, nutella, or teaspoon of your favorite jam! The frosting is very thick and basic, so feel free to play around with it!

Put your creamy CREAMY frosting in a ziploc bag, cut the corner, and swirl away!

REMEMBER TO SPRINKLE IT WITH SEA SALT. I'M NOT KIDDING. IT MAKES IT!

Who wouldn't want to make these sweet faces things all the time?
Wow. Now I know why everyone says I'm "The Mom."

what a Good Friday.

Today was one of those sweet days where you realize near the end how wonderfully you spent your time. I talked hiked some trails, ate good food, and listened to some wonderful music- all with beautiful people. Just all around solid.

Songs of Water at Harvest House

God made a whole beautiful earth and decided to put you in it, to experience all of this beauty. You can't do that watching television all the time.- Donald Miller

Watch this if you want to rejoice (and maybe a cry a little...) about the greatness of what happened when God came to Earth. 

spring break...part one.

Five days off school equals nine days of no responsibility. A break from work, school, and the confines of a Boone winter that is still going on strong.

TODAY

This year I couldn't pick between two options, so I kind of forced both. The result was a loss of sleep and savings, but lots of memories. When you have to choose, I think you should usually choose the one where the regrets are only temporary. 

Things I learned in Florida:

1. Everyone goes crazy after 12 hours in a car.

2. No body looks good in a wet suit.

3. God created us to be in community.

4. Our hearts all want the same things, even if you are just visiting us from China :)

5. Manatees are scary up close.

I got back late to Huntersville on Thursday night thawed out from the warm sun and with some new friends. Then I repacked my backpack and tried to get some sleep so I could wake up for my 7 am flight to NEW YORK CITAAAAAAAY.

I can't wait to share all about this short, but very sweet, trip to one of my favorite places! 

a sigh of relief.

Spring is here. It's still cold in Boone and it is supposed to snow this weekend, but the cloudless sky today will help me get through it. It's reminding me of what's ahead. Perfect Boone days where you feel guilty if you aren't outside. Longer afternoons. More time in the morning to get up and watch the sunrise. Everyone comes out of hiding and we are all friends again. Ahhhh.... we are so close.

But for now old school Avett Brothers is playing in this cozy and light donut shop and I'm pretending that I don't see the weather forecast.

Chocolate Espresso Glaze Donut from Local Lion

(I told myself I wouldn't eat the whole thing.... Oops.)

Speaking of Avett Brothers, watch this if you want your heart to be happy. 

orange & pear // spring-please-come-quicker salad

Salad: Spinach, Pumpkin Seeds, Blood Orange, D'Anjou Pear, Feta, Balsamic Vinaigrette  

Soup: Trader Joe's Organic Butternut Squash soup with Pumpkin Seeds

an obsession with sea salt.

I have always loved baking and cooking and discovering new recipes. When I'm cooking, I always try to find the best seasonings to make my food spicy hot or give anything a more distinct taste. Then I tried a chocolate brownie with sea salt and it was a GAME. CHANGER.

I became obsessed with sea salt.

Every recipe, whether it was dessert or dinner, was given a pinch of sea salt. It brings out the flavor without completely turning it in to something else. The coarser the salt the better. Its ended up in soups, puddings, vegetables, ice cream. My sweet friend Ashley B is often with me when I'm making my messes and would point out my consistent use of the stuff. So I started pointing it out too. 

Always with sea salt, I would say.

She told me it would be a great blog name and I thought she was wrong. And I had already decided that I would never have a blog.

Then I applied and was accepted to go to Chicago, IL this summer with Here's Life Inner City. I wanted to have a place where I could share what God was doing and all that, and I knew that a blog was the best place for it all. This was the only name that kept coming back to me.

I was extremely hesitant to use it because it sounds like a little cooking blog and I'm not really qualified to make one of those (which doesn't mean I won't try...), but then I remembered Jesus's words in Matthew:

You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

Matthew 5:13-14

 Salt draws out the subtle good flavors in food and preserves what would otherwise spoil (The Voice Bible). The Message translates it as Jesus saying we are here to bring out the God-flavors of the earth.

What would it look like to bring out the flavors of God? To let the Lord use you to show:

His beauty

His goodness

His love for justice

His wisdom

His truthfulness

What would my daily life be like? How would this help me actively communicate with God? How would I treat all of His kids? How would this help me cultivate thankfulness?

So I decided that yes, the name is appropriate. I don't want a life that is bland and lacks meaning. I want each day to be filled with little adventures. I want to create because I'm able. I want to be bold and honest. I want to be selfless and loving. I want a life of beauty, prayer, drive, generosity, faith, joy, purpose, and flavor. 

Here is my humble attempt!

Clearwater, FL 

Emily and Me

SB2K13

P.S. This doesn't mean I won't take the flavor part literally sometimes. I love feeding other people and myself tasty things, and I don't think Instagram cares...  and at least here I will be less aware of social media's approval ;) 

why i'm writing.

I love blogs.

It's true.

I can spend way too much time browsing other people's lives. Scrolling through the wonderful places people get to live and their level of craftiness, which I don't think I'll ever achieve.

A lot of times these blogs bring inspiration, and other times they bring about the dangerous habit of comparison. The thinking of "I could never do that" or "My life will never look this way." When in reality, bloggers are usually just sharing the happy parts. Not to say their lives aren't wonderful, but everyone's story is a little messy.

But I'm not writing to gain a following or to try to make myself look cooler. Honestly, it kind of freaks me out to have people read what I write because it makes me feel pretty vulnerable.

I'm writing to cultivate gratitude in my own life. To write about the beautiful life I have right now, instead of constantly hoping for what could lie ahead. To be able to look back and get excited about all God has done. He's already put me in the mountains with a bunch of wonderful people. So far it's pretty great.

I never would of started this blog if I hadn't been given the incredible opportunity to go Chicago, IL with Cru this summer. For eight weeks we will be partnering with different urban ministries to share the love of Christ with the people in Chicago. This is something radically different than anything I've ever done before, and needless to say I'm pretty nervous.

I want to share what's going on mostly for those people who are supporting me this summer through prayer and resources. I'm so thankful for you!!!! 

So thanks for reading this!

 I'm hoping to not just write y'all to death, but to share my experiences!

hello!

this is my blog! i'm working on a fancy template and my first post. so hopefully it will be up and running soon!