There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens… He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11a NIV
Thoughts to Ponder
Change.
It’s the month of September, which is the start of my favorite season—fall. Except that I live in Florida, where it’s still 80*+ most days, so fall doesn’t really seem to be here yet, despite my pumpkin decor.
With the arrival of September, most of us are also embracing a change of season, even if the weather doesn’t feel like it. School has started, schedules shift, NFL and college football games dominate the TV on the weekend, and we begin to anticipate autumn activities and holidays that will be quickly approaching.
It’s easy to get swept up in all of the change that’s happening, and before we know it, we’ve rushed around and haven’t really taken a moment to rest and appreciate the blessings around us.
There’s a time for rushing and hustle and bustle, and we seem to do that frequently, if not constantly. But what about a time for resting and reflecting? Are we creating margin to slow down, embrace the moment, and be still?
I’ve felt convicted lately to do just that. I am trying to shift and reorganize the clutter of my days—and the clutter in my mind—to allow for more room to rest, be present, and enjoy life around me. Ironically, as I’ve set physical and mental boundaries for myself, I have found that I am actually more productive, better rested, and more content than I was when I was rushing around. I’m certainly not perfect at this, and still have days and moments of rushing around, but changing up the rhythm to which my life beats is a welcome change of pace.
You can read more of these thoughts on my recent blog post.
What I’m Reading
I’m currently reading Win Over Worry by Keri Eichberger. Full disclosure, Keri is an author-friend, and I am so grateful for not only her friendship, but for the words she penned in this book! I’m a worrier (aren’t we all?), and this book is so relatable, but also practical, on how to win the worry battle. I love this book so much that I’m actually leading my women’s Bible study through it right now. You can snag your copy here. I don’t get any kickbacks for sharing the link, I just think it’s a great book and wanted to share!
A few months ago I read Why Do I Do What I Don’t Want to Do? by Jonathan Pokluda. This book is a gut-punch in the best way, and I encourage everyone to read it. But you’ve been warned: it’s convicting and will inspire change. You can get your copy here. I found this book so impactful that I actually quote it a few times in my book.
What I’m Writing
I am SO excited to share that I am almost halfway complete with my book manuscript! I still have a long ways to go, but I’m excited for the progress I’ve made.
I also recently participated in a blog hop, and you can read my blog here.
For full transparency, I have had some rejection letters in the last few months. I’ve submitted some articles to be considered for publication and unfortunately didn’t get accepted. It’s hard to spend so much time on writing an article or devotional, only for it to be rejected. Not only is rejection part of the process, but it also forces me to practice what I preach: sometimes the lesson in my writing is for me to learn what I’m writing about, even if the only person to read it is me.
Recipes I’m Making
In the spirit of carving out more time, I am proud to say I have finally mastered breakfast meal prep for our family! It has been so nice having breakfast meal-prepped for a month at a time now. It only takes me about an 1-2 hours to prep breakfast for a month, and it’s so worth the effort to do so! My husband doesn’t usually have time for a sit-down breakfast before he’s off to work in the morning, and I don’t have the time (or patience) to make a hot breakfast for myself every morning, either. But I love a good breakfast sandwich, and I am so excited to share that I have finally perfected my recipe and method!
Disclaimer: I am not a professional chef (that’s my cousin, Luke! Check out his food truck, Blue Sparrow, in Pittsburgh), so this recipe is quite simple and not very fancy, but it hits the spot for my family.
Egg & Veggie Breakfast Sandwich
Serving: 1 sandwich; recipe makes roughly 24 sandwiches; can freeze for up to 3 months
Ingredients:
12 whole eggs
2 cups egg whites (or 12 egg whites)
8 bell peppers, diced
2 white onions, diced
2 cups cheddar cheese
0.5 bag of baby spinach
2tsp minced garlic
2tsp salt
Pepper as needed
24 English Muffins
Optional: American cheese slices, jalapeños, hot sauce
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*. Dice peppers and onions, cook on the stove until translucent (option to add jalapeños to the peppers and onions). Add garlic and salt. Add baby spinach until cooked down. While peppers/onions are cooking, add eggs and egg whites to mixing bowl and whisk. Add in the cheddar cheese, and add pepper if desired. Once veggies are cooked, add to the egg/cheese bowl and combine well. Grease two 9x13 pans, split the egg/veggie mixture between the two pans. Bake for 30 mins. Let the pans cool completely, then use a circular cookie cutter or a glass rim to cut out circular sections. Add each circle to an English Muffin. (Option to add a slice of American cheese to the sandwich). Wrap each sandwich in foil and freeze.
Reheat from frozen: defrost sandwich in fridge overnight from frozen, separate English muffin from the egg and cheese. Toast the English muffin in the toaster (we toast it twice for an extra crunchy English muffin), heat egg/cheese in the microwave. Reassemble the sandwich. Or, defrost in microwave from frozen and eat. Option to add hot sauce to the sandwich.
Let me know if you make this recipe! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
(Next meal prep project: figure out how to better prep meals for lunch. I pack my husband’s lunch almost everyday and I want to have this better prepped at the beginning of the week. I made a Greek Chickpea Salad today which turned our surprisingly well, so if it’s husband-approved I’ll share that recipe next month!)
Let’s Connect!
Thanks for reading my newsletter! Feel free to forward this email along to anyone who might enjoy it. My hope is to encourage you in your everyday faith and to share the joys and trials of life and motherhood. We’re all in this together.
—Kristin