Nine ways to build community

I've written a few times about how John and I are committed to being part of community here in Atlanta. Today, I want to give you a few practical ways that we've seen community emerge, both from our missional community group at our church, with our neighbors, and with friends in our neighborhood.

We by no means have "community" all figured out. It's been an exciting learning and growing process. Though it takes time to develop relationships with neighbors, with just the short time we've lived in our new home it's already been so rewarding.

We have been so blessed by our neighbors, who have welcomed us into our home by bringing us (delicious) house-warming gifts and intentionally getting to know us. So if anything, this list is mainly what I've learned from them. My hope is that some of these ideas will inspire you to intentionally serve your community and build relationships with neighbors.

• Bake/Cook: One of the easiest icebreakers is food. Upon moving into our new house, we were showered with fresh farmer's market peaches, brownies, and bottles of wine. To keep the relationship going, I baked Rice Crispy treats and delivered them to our surrounding neighbors. The impromptu conversation that happens at the front door is a great way to get to know your neighbors.
• Take up a neighbor's trashcans: One of my least favorite chores is taking the trash out and bringing the trashcans back up. John always takes the trash out, but I'm the one working from home all day, so I try to be good about bringing the trashcans back up from the curb. One afternoon, I saw my neighbor bringing mine up for me - He probably had no idea how much this meant to me! So yesterday when our neighbors were gone all day, I brought his trashcans up. (Correction: I noticed it, and had John bring them up when he got home!)
• Neighborhood potluck: In the past month, we've been invited to 3 potlucks and have been to 2 of them. (We didn't attend one because it was the same time as another.) Although neighborhood potlucks can be kind of awkward, they are worth attending. Why? You not only meet new neighbors and catch up with old ones, which build relationships, but you'll be surprised at some of the connections you make. Case in point, at the last potluck, John met another Wheaton grad. If your neighborhood doesn't have an event like this, I encourage you to organize one!
• Neighborhood movie night: Recently, our church community group organized a movie night for the neighborhood. We borrowed a big screen to set up outside, made lemonade, and had an ice cream truck stop by. It was such a hit - and a great way to unite neighbors after recent school districting disputes - that we're having another one this Fall!
• Sit outside: We have a front porch with rocking chairs, and now that the weather is nice, we love sitting outside. John has weekly breakfast dates with friends out on the porch, and just by being present he's built friendships with neighbors who walk their dogs in the morning.
• Sit at the local bus stop: There is a bus stop across the street from our house, and recently a Marta bus broke down outside. John went to go check on the bus driver, who thought he was coming to yell at him for blocking our driveway. Instead, John brought him Chick-fil-A coupons for a free sandwich and started a conversation with him. Is there a bus stop or local park nearby your house? I encourage you to take the initiative and meet the people who frequent the area.
• Visit the local police station: There is also a police station across the street from us. I intend to bake something and bring it to the police, just as a friendly gesture and way to thank them for their service.  
• Weekly running date with a neighbor: Some of my friends in the neighborhood enjoy running, like I do. So every week I set up a day/time to run with them. It's a perfect combination of keeping in touch and getting fit together.
• Simply remember important things about your neighbors: This is something I am working on. Though it can be the easiest thing to do, it can also make a huge impact. Did a neighbor mention their child's upcoming birthday? Write a quick birthday note. Did a neighbor recently have a baby? Bring over a meal. The list is endless!

What are some creative ideas you have for engaging with your neighbors and building community?

How to Organize Your Recipes & Make Spaghetti Squash "Pasta"

I mentioned yesterday that during the past few rainy days, I started an organization project. Although Spring is the season for new beginnings, Fall has always been the month that motivates me to start new projects. This month's project was to organize my recipe book.

For one of my bridal showers, John's aunt gave me a beautiful binder filled with family recipes, even including some written in the shaky handwriting of John's great grandmother. It was such a thoughtful gift, and recently my grandmother started giving me family recipes as well. Ever since I received the present, I've wanted to combine it with my own collection of recipes.

I finally sorted through my recipe compilation, which I'd started since first learning to cook back in high school. Going through the old recipes brought back memories of spending an hour trying to learn how to make coconut shrimp. And some recipes which looked good at the time, now seem boring and lacking flavor - those got tossed in the trash.

The result is a book organized by:
Appetizers,
Soups & Salads,
Breads,
Brunch,
Sides,
Main Dishes,
Seafood,
Pasta,
Desserts, and
Holiday.

I also added dividers in between sections to separate soups from salads, slow cooker meals from other main dishes, and actual desserts from my healthy ones. Eventually it'd be nice to go through all of my old Cooking Light magazines and tear out the pages I've tabbed. But for now, I'm very happy with the finished product - it's so much easier to flip through my recipes and pick out dishes for the week.

 As a result, I rediscovered this favorite dish and made it this week for dinner:

Edamame and Shrimp Spaghetti Squash "Pasta"

Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil + a little extra at the end
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup edamame, shelled and thawed
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
8 -12 oz. shrimp
1/2 Tbsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Slice squash in half, scoop out seeds, and lay flat on baking sheet sprayed with cooking oil. Bake squash for 30 minutes.
3. Remove squash from oven, and while you let squash cool, caramelize onions with olive oil and garlic. Cook over low heat until onions are browned, about 10 minutes.
4. Add mushrooms, shrimp, red pepper flakes, oregano, and edamame. Cook until shrimp is done, about 5 minutes.
5. Use two forks to scrape strands out from the squash. (It looks like spaghetti, hence the name!) Add the "spaghetti" to a bowl. 
6. Drizzle olive oil over the squash and toss with onion mixture.
7. Top with fresh parsley and cheese, if desired.

4 Reasons to Visit a Farm this Fall

This weekend was certainly an adventure, starting with a farm festival, ending with food poisoning, and tackling an organization project in between.

First: A visit to a farm, an activity I highly encourage everyone to do this Fall because... 

Reason #1: You get to shoot corn out of a cannon.

I'd just finished reading Ann Voskamp's (author of 1000 Gifts) blog post about shooting pumpkins out of cannon at an abandoned school bus. I didn't realize that I'd be next! ...Only with corn and targets instead of pumpkins and a school bus. But it was still lots of fun, loud, and I came closer to the target than John did!

Reason #2: You can get lost in a corn maze.

I think this needs to become an annual tradition for John and I, since two years ago I dragged him to Shuckle's Corn Maze in Nashville. The best part about getting lost in a corn maze is that my terrible sense of direction is for once a year on par with John's great navigation skills.

Reason #3: You get to cheer for a pig name Michael Squelps.

I'd never seen a pig race before, and it was very entertaining. At some points the pigs would start running the wrong direction, and halfway through they had to jump in a trough of water and swim across. On the third - and last - race, "our" pig (aka the one we were cheering for) finally won the pig race... I think his namesake gave him a leg up in the swim!

In the video below, we're cheering for the green pig!

Reason #4: You can walk through fields of flowers and pumpkin patches.

Pure fall beauty.

Then on Sunday evening, John and I went on a date night, which was the perfect way to end our weekend until John got food poisoning. So since John is in bed and it's been pouring rain almost nonstop since Sunday, I'm working on an organization project. I'll share the details this week but suffice it to say that once John recovers, he'll have a lot of yummy food waiting for him!

If there's water, there's growth. Well, not exactly.

If you water, then it will grow. 

This is what I assumed because my knockout roses and camellias are beautifully blooming just from me (or more often than not, John) watering every other day.

So if there's water, there's growth, right? Well, not exactly. 

The problem with "if... then" statements is that life has variables. 

Even though I watered my tomato plants and they were thriving, all of a sudden I returned to a completely eaten plant. No more leaves, no more growth.

Before. Tomato plants are the ones wrapped around the stakes.

After. Leaves eaten by caterpillars.

But I watered?!

This scenario is just like life. Sometimes we don't see the warning signs, and even though we're checking all of the right boxes, there's no growth. 

If you're a leader, this could be with your employees. Have you tried "watering" (i.e. investing) your time in an individual only to see that person not thrive like you expected and hoped?

Maybe you're trying to grow in an area yourself. You're reading books on how to manage your time and started keeping a calendar, yet you still forget about that assignment due today. Or you're still late to your friend's party.

Sometimes we (meaning I!) get frustrated when growth is slow or stagnate. In these situations, I often expect the "if I do this, then this will happen" scenario to work perfectly. 

Instead, we must learn to ask the right questions:

1. If growth has stopped, what factors could have caused this?
2. Do I have control over any of those factors?
3. Am I watering the right area to begin with? 
4. If not, what is a better use of my time? 
5. Where will my investment have the most impact?
6. What variables need to be in alignment to ensure growth will occur?
7. Which of those variables do I have control over, which depend on other people, and which ones are out of anyone's control?

Asking these questions will enable you to get a clearer picture of reality. They will also show you the best use of your time and resources so you are investing in areas with the highest probability for growth.

Once I saw my tomato plants had been completely eaten, I checked my other plants. I noticed the leaves of my green beans and my basil also had bites out of them. I also saw a caterpillar on the green beans. Now that I know the warning signs, I can take the right steps... and not expect watering to do all the work. My next step? Lowe's Garden Center to the rescue!

Give yourself permission to accept grace

I am an only child and part of Generation Y, the generation who believes they can accomplish anything. Now add that to my Achiever mindset.

It can be difficult for me to give myself grace and not always feel the pressure to have produced something by the end of the day. For me right now, I am starting a company and trying to begin writing a book. A lot of this requires ideation - not actual products you can point to.

Being achievement-oriented and ambitious I believe are some of my strengths. But strengths can sometimes be taken too far, and this week it was refreshing to be reminded about grace.

As my She Reads Truth study said, "We are no longer slaves. We're not slaves to sin, emotions, what may come in our days. We are not slaves to our past, to our future, to our vain imaginings. We are not slaves to who we were or who we were supposed to be."

...Or who we believe we should be.

Instead, we are redeemed by God's grace to be His daughter (Galatians 4:1-20). The key question is not whether I accomplished anything by the end of the day but how am I living? Am I showing the world who I am, or showing the world that I am my Father's daughter, redeemed by grace?

Are you on the road for the grace journey or the destination?

Many people are familiar with the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, and Tim Keller has written an excellent book on this topic. As a recap, a younger son gets his inheritance early and squanders all of it "in reckless living." After hiring himself out, he finally returns home with a repentant heart.

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." The father didn't even let him finish asking for forgiveness before preparing a huge celebration for his son's return.

The father welcomed back his son as a full heir, just as we are promised that we "are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God" (Gal. 4:7). The word embraced used here literally means "fell on his neck." The father grabbed a hold of him, and the son let himself be embraced, understanding the extent of his grace and forgiveness.

In contrast, the older son (who stayed with his father, served him, and never disobeyed) shows self-righteous resentment toward the celebration of his younger brother. He refuses to participate in the party because he lives by trying to prove himself, rather than accepting everything as a gift.

"His father came out and entreated him," just as he had with the younger son. He says, "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours."

But the older son refuses to be embraced.

Who are you today? Are you a daughter or son with a full inheritance of grace, or are you wearing yourself out trying to prove yourself?

Fall Favorites

Although I love summer, the fall just has an excitement in the air. So in honor of the beginning of fall, here are a few of my fall favorites:

1. Sunday afternoons in the park with my hubby

What is more perfect than reading, relaxing and then playing football, Frisbee, and bocce ball in beautiful Grant Park? (In high school, our friends all joked that John was like a camp director who always had a bag of baseball bats, balls, and other sports equipment... well, that's still true in marriage!)

2. Pumpkins... anything pumpkin!  Pumpkin candle, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin muffin...

Pumpkin Muffins

These are very similar to my banana oatmeal muffins, but you simply add cinnamon and replace the bananas with a can of pumpkin, or do a half-and-half combo like I did.

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup almond milk

2 eggs

1 Tbsp. baking powder

3 cups gluten free rolled oats

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

5 Tbsp. chocolate chips (optional- I didn't add them this time)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together.
3. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray, or use liners.
4. Divide batter between 12 muffin cups, filling almost to the top.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, or just until edges start to brown and the muffins are firm to the touch.
6. Let muffins cool, and then remove them from the pan - they won't stick this way.

3. It fits into #1 above, but reading either outside in beautiful weather or curled up in a blanket after dinner

I am currently reading an excellent book called Half the Sky, but since it's heavy and sobering at times, I'm also re-reading The Chronicles of Narnia, a favorite series from childhood.

I'm still in awe over the creation scene in the first book of the Narnia series, The Magician's Nephew:

"In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing... Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard... One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leaped out - single stars, constellations, and planets, brighter and bigger than any in our world... If you had seen and heard it, as Digory did, you would have felt quite certain that it was the stars themselves which were singing, and that it was the First Voice, the deep one, which had made them appear and made them sing."

4. Pulling out the slow cooker!  

...And making my slow cooker pork tacos for friends.

5. Approaching our first anniversary in less than a month and reflecting on God's many blessings

John was back at Wheaton yesterday for work, and had lunch at one of his old favorite spots, Portillos. He sent me a text that made me pause and be so grateful for our journey together:

What are you thankful for this fall?

Fit Friday with Yummy Pre- and Post- Workout Foods

After exploring the connection between body and mind yesterday, I thought it was time to get a little practical and give you a fat-blasting workout and some healthy - but delicious - recipes for energy before and after your workout.

Let's discuss food first: it's always easier to workout knowing there's a delicious post-workout snack waiting for you! This is one of Leah's (from Chocolate and Wild Air) 5 tips for waking up early to workout.

Energy Bites: Inspired by Gimme Some Oven's recipe

I've been loving these energy bites this week! They are a perfect grab and go snack before a workout and the ideal afternoon pick me up. Plus, they only take 5 minutes to make (and no baking required)!  

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup oatmeal

1/3 cup whole flaxseeds

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup ground flaxseeds

1/2 cup raisins (or you can substitute chocolate chips!)

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp. vanilla

Preparation: Stir everything together and form into little balls. Keep refrigerated. 

 Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal

After you workout, it's a treat to come home to a bowl of this oatmeal! It's fall flavored and so creamy... yum!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oatmeal

1/3 cup pumpkin

1 Tbsp. peanut butter

1/2 Tbsp. whole flax seeds

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 banana, sliced

Preparation:

1. Prepare oatmeal according to directions. You can make it in the microwave and use almond milk in place of water, if desired. 
2. Stir in pumpkin, peanut butter, flax seeds, and spices.
3. Top with sliced banana.

Fat-blasting Circuit

Now onto the fat-blasting circuit, which is sure to have you sweating and good sore the next day!

All you need is a set of 5 pound weights... and your body weight. Why do exercises using my own body weight wear me out so much? Try out these "little" workouts and you'll see what I mean!

0:00-3:00 Warm up and lightly stretch

3:00-13:00 10-minute Crossfit Workout from FitSugar : This workout combines four different plyometric exercises (i.e. jumping) to get your heart rate up.

13:00-23:00 10-minute Fat-blasting Bootcamp from FitSugar : I loved this workout because it used exercises I'd never done before, yet were easy to get the hang of.

If you have the time (and energy!) repeat those two videos.

23:00-33:00 Video 1

33:00-43:00 Video 2

43:00-45:00 Cool down and stretch