The Seasonal Side of Blogging

May 29, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 10 Comments

I’ve been waiting for this for six months. Summer has arrived in Northern Idaho! Well, that’s a bit optimistic – let’s just say Spring is in full swing with it’s sudden showers, new growth, and increase in sunshine. I’m okay with that.

On this brighter side of our four seasons, I’ve become more appreciative of the weather’s ebb and flow over the past nine months. I look back at the Winter with some fondness for the pretty, fresh snow and the chilly wind as an excuse to drink hot cocoa and make soup. (Please remind me of this come November…)

As I’ve begun acclimating to Idaho’s seasonal changes, I’ve begun to notice some personal habits morph with the seasons as well. The warmer weather has a powerful influence on how I spend my time. Where Winter prompted me to hibernate with books and movies, Summer has pulled me outside with walks and projects around the house. Those seem to be natural shifts, but I was a surprised to note a shift in my blogging habits too.

Writing isn’t just a hobby, it’s a necessary means for me to process life. So, to see my main outlet for writing drop in frequency made me pause. It was hard not to feel like I had failed somehow – I wasn’t on top of my blog schedule or keeping up with social media outlets as much. How could I call writing a passion if it didn’t consume me regardless of the season?

The truth was revealed in the very definition of a season: a period of the year characterized by a particular climatic feature or marked by a particular event or activity. Just like I’m beginning to see the beauty of our changing weather patterns, I’m also beginning to see the importance of changing rhythms in my personal life. Some periods of my life will have different priorities and activities; I need to make space in my life for those natural changes to occur.

The electric green of new growth in Spring wouldn’t be possible without the frost of Winter nights. Autumn’s deep hues are a lovely contrast to the technicolor landscape of Summer come October. Letting words flow for hours during the long evenings of a cold winter breathes life into my soul just as much as working in the back yard on a warm summer afternoon. I need both the feast of writing and famine of silence to keep my passion alive and healthy.

Making space in these shifting seasons requires grace. It means having open hands with the way I spend my time, allowing God to direct those priorities and activities as He sees fit. As much as I like to, I can’t allow my expectations or a previous routine dictate the standards of each new season.

What does that mean for Primitive Roads? I’ll still be navigating this unpaved path with you, just on a less regimented basis. I have two writing projects (an ebook! and this year’s 31 Day Challenge posts) that I’ll be focusing on this summer, but Primitive Roads will not be forgotten.

How are you embracing the rhythms of this new season?

photo credit: pedrosimoes7 via photopin cc

Life Changing Books

May 23, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 7 Comments

If you follow Primitive Roads regularly, I bet you’ve noticed I’m a bit of a bibliophile. My cookbook collection is monstrous and I’d say half the boxes my husband and I moved from California were filled with books.

Curling up with a good book – alone with the pages – is my idea of a perfect evening, but I also love that reading isn’t just a singular pursuit. Some of my favorite conversations with friends have been about books we both have read. My childhood memories are peppered with hours spent reading aloud. Mouse books at Gramma’s house. Bible stories with mom before bed.

I’m linking up with Katie of Cardigan Way (you all know how much I like her!) with a list of books that have changed my life. This is by no means an exhaustive list and I’m sure I will forget some super important ones, but these are the books that popped into my mind first.

Enjoy and keep reading!

The Secret Garden and The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (just now realizing they were written by the same author…) and Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt are old-fashioned coming of age stories that I read with my mom.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins are both phenomenal young adult/adult fiction crossovers that made me think more deeply about good and evil.

I think The Nancy Drew mysteries by Carolyn Keene (a pen name for multiple authors) contributed to my sense of adventure growing up. I feel like Nancy, Bess, George and I are all chums. I always hoped I came across as spunky and smart as Ms. Drew.

The works of C.S. Lewis and Jane Austen were formative. I dissected both while studying abroad in Oxford – which was, in itself, life changing.

My definition of a Christian was challenged by Lauren Winner in her memoir Girl Meets God.

I will never look at excess, in any form, the same after having read 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker or on a more practical level, Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider.

Redeeming Love was profound, but Francine Rivers‘ Mark of The Lion series gave me a beautiful example of a gentle and quiet spirit in it’s grace-filled heroine Hadassah. She is my fictional standard for memorable Christ-like humility.

The Giver by Lois Lowry (Gathering Blue and Messenger, too) was a poignant look at pain versus perfection and which one is necessary to live a complete life.

Life changing authors: Brennan Manning, Ann Voskamp, and L. M. Montgomery.

I know I will instantly regret leaving a certain book out when this goes live. Maybe a second addition will be coming soon. In the meantime, ask someone at your Memorial Day BBQ what books they have read that have changed their life.

I would love to hear some of the books that have changed YOUR life.

Disclosure: This post contains my Amazon affiliate links. To learn more abut the books mentioned in this post, click on the images. Thanks for supporting Primitive Roads!

photo credit: azrasta via photopin cc

The Camp High

May 21, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 1 Comment

I always have a hard time leaving California. Leaving usually means saying goodbye to two very dear things – family and warm weather. I was in that sad situation a couple weeks ago after a week long trip to attend my mom’s retirement party and a family ministry conference in Orange County.

This time, however, I was even more tied to my beloved Golden State due to feelings I hadn’t really experienced since high school. I was on a camp high – that heady feeling you get from really encountering the Living God, having an intimate, life-altering experience. I was scared that a flight back to Idaho would deflate the camp high I had been soaring on since the first session of The Gathering (the conference with the fantastic worship I wrote about last week).

Surrounded by the Spirit and separated from the duties of real life for a couple of days, it was hard not to start soaring. We were fed, equipped, and encouraged in ministry and in life. I felt energized re-inspired. Maybe I was particularly in need of refreshment, but I climbed to the top of that spiritual mountain peak with the agility of a billy goat.

As our departure grew closer, I became nervous. I didn’t want to lose that energy and excitement. I didn’t want to forget what Albert, Michelle, Erik, and Megan had to say:

The dangerous side of ministry is that you can learn how to do it. It’s possible to have great content but for the wrong assignment.
Truth is the epicenter of freedom. When we live in view of God’s mercy, we are free to call out truth with no fear of condemnation.
In our brokenness, we can see how God and the Gospel puts us back together.
Stop running. Start receiving. Now live! Work out of a place of rest; don’t take rest from the work.

I didn’t want to go back to what seemed like my ordinary spiritual life.

I could feel myself begin to idolize what I was leaving and become judgmental about what I was coming back to. Instead of being thankful for a weekend of refreshment and inspiration, I was bitter that it was over so quickly.

Tim and I moved into our new house a couple days after returning to Idaho so I didn’t have much time to dwell in my bitterness (thank the Lord!). In between unpacking boxes and cleaning, I finished the book I started on that California trip and couldn’t help but smile at God’s not-so-subtle way of showing me just what to do with the exhilaration from my camp high – enjoy it while it lasts and keep moving!

God will restore us and refresh us along the way. He will provide moments of nourishment and rest, but he wants me, he wants you, to continue to run, to be available to do any good work. We need to keep going – even in the rain, no matter how dark it gets – and finish this race.

Gary Thomas | Every Body Matters | 207

As if that wasn’t enough, I ran into this video:

Though I still want to cling to the hope and freedom I experienced at The Gathering (and hopefully go again next year!), I need to realize that hope and freedom are found in Christ not a conference. God is the source of transformation, not a dynamic speaker or skilled worship leader. Those things are refreshing, and I can pause to be thankful when I encounter them, but if I want to finish the race, I can’t linger very long at the water stations along the way.

Worship at The Gathering

May 13, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 1 Comment

Chairs filled the room in a tight formation. The large room began to shrink as hundreds of people started taking their seats. Even though we sat on the aisle of a row near the front, I could feel my neighbors sit and settle in.

Spoken word proclaims the greatness of God. The room is dark as we see the enormity of God’s creation splashed on the screen above. We are insignificant, but God gives us value. We are fallen, but God redeems. We need and God gives.

There is a stirring as we pray – a current of hope and excitement makes its way around the room. God is here. At the leader’s invitation, we rise. Our jostling adds a melody to his strumming guitar. As drums and bass fill out the chorus, our voices swell as a collective act of praise to the One who paid it all.

There’s nothing like a large group worshipping together as the Church. This past week, Tim and I attended The Gathering, a family ministry conference in Costa Mesa. One of the {many} highlights for me was the worship.

Standing in that room, eyes closed and arms high, I felt so near to Jesus – like we were the only ones in the room. He was there in my head and in my heart. The darkness felt like a refuge. The music was enveloping.

At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel the heat from those around me. Sleeves brushed sleeves, arms bumped arms as we worshipped our God as one. I was aware of the other souls crying out to Jesus just as much as I was solely focused on Him alone.

Beautiful.

Beautiful because it gave form to the individual and corporate aspects of life in the body of Christ. We get to have a personal relationship with our Savior {individual} as well as walk alongside other believers, serving God and others {corporate}.

I was worshipping. We were worshipping.

One God.

Annette’s Enchiladas

May 8, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 8 Comments

If you read Sunday’s post you know I’m trying to be intentional about inviting people over for dinner, despite how vulnerable that makes me feel. My dear friend Sarah came to visit in March and we took the opportunity to do just that – cook for others and feel vulnerable in the process (well, at least I did…). We decided to make a meal from the recipes found in Shauna Niequist’s new book Bread and Wine and invited some acquaintances who Tim and I were hoping would become friends. Baby steps to community…

Sarah and I made three of Shauna’s recipes and all of them were winners. I shared her Blueberry Crisp recipe (which my mom is now hooked on) and wanted to share another of her delicious recipes that we made – Annette’s Enchiladas.

Tim and I love Mexican food so I immediately latched onto this enchilada recipe while reading Shauna’s book. I was intrigued by the green sauce and thankful that the enchilada preparation didn’t necessitate rolling.

Annette’s Enchiladas is a casserole style dish with a zesty sauce made of sour cream and chili verde. Corn tortillas are layered with sauce, a hefty dose of cheese, and shredded chicken. Several layers later, some time in the oven, and we had a large pan of gooey enchiladas with a perfect little spicy kick. Don’t forget the sprinkle of cilantro, it really brightens up the flavor!

Annette’s Enchiladas

adapted from Shauna Niequist’s recipe in Bread and Wine

1 cup sour cream
1 28-oz can green enchilada sauce (Las Palmas is recommended)
2 4-oz cans diced green chilies
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated
12 corn tortillas (you could use flour)
1 cup chicken broth
Cilantro

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Simmer the chicken broth in a skillet, and before placing each tortilla in the pan, use tongs to pass the tortilla through the broth for just a few seconds. If you leave the tortillas in the broth for too long, they’ll fall apart, so just dip each one in for a few seconds to soften it before putting it in the enchilada pan.

Mix green sauce with chilies and sour cream. Smooth 1 spoonful of the sauce mixture around the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan.

Layer 4 tortillas over the first layer of sauce. After tortillas, add half the chicken, then one-third of the sauce, then one-third of the cheese. Repeat one more time so there are two full layers.

Finish with a layer of 4 more tortillas, the remaining third of the sauce, and the remaining third of the cheese.

Bake until warmed through and the cheese is melted, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let sit at least 15 minutes before cutting. Top with chopped cilantro.

{Like Shauna says, this is indeed comfort food and just as delicious hot as it is straight from the fridge as a midnight snack…}

Serves 6 generously

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