Taking a sabbatical is something that many professors and pastors do. The concept is to go away for one year, after seven years of working. The time away is usually spent on travel or study. It’s a break from the day to day grind to get refreshed and inspired. I’ve had a lot of questions Read More
Growth. Change. New experiences. New flavors. A new way of life. How does any of this happen? How do we go from things being COMPLETELY foreign and uncomfortable and strange and scary – to normal(ish) and a rhythm we can keep up with and start to feel apart of? It happens one day at a Read More
When I first started drinking Shakeology I fully intended to send it back. There was a money back guarantee and in my mind there was NO WAY Shakeology could be worth $130 for a month supply. And then…I drank it. Every day, for 30 days. The cravings that used to RULE me were broken. My Read More
A major focus of my blog is an appeal that the “hard” things we shrink back from, are actually the GOOD things that in the end will make our lives better. Daily workouts, clean eating, natural child birth, homeschooling, building a business from home….and now, living abroad. These things aren’t for everyone, but I feel Read More
I’ve been having so much fun exploring raw foods and a vegan lifestyle. It’s not always been easy, especially when life is hectic and I don’t have a lot of time to prep foods. These past two weeks have been less than stellar in the nutrition department, so I decided to jump back into loving Read More
“Ok Vanessa, you can do this! You were homeschooled, sure it was like 20+years ago when you were in 1st grade and you were a kid so you weren’t taking notes from your mom, and you had no idea how much pressure you’d feel being completely responsible for the intellectual formation of one of the Read More
Hey friends!!! Gosh, I haven’t had this long of a hiatus from blogging since starting, over three years ago. The reason for it was simple, I felt the Lord pressing on my heart: “Do less, be more present. Be fiercely devoted to your priorities and do away with all that is secondary.” My poor sweet Read More
Five ingredient recipes are my jam. As much as I love cooking, when I see recipes with 20+ ingredients in the list, my eyes start to glaze over and I just can’t. But five ingredients?? I can do five. And this recipe is AMAZING – my family (including my kids) all love it. Here’s what Read More
So, this past week I did an experiment, I decided to go raw. It was sort of spur of the moment, and never in my life have I had a desire to go raw. It seemed boring and scary and totally overwhelming. I never saw myself as THAT crunchy. I’m only moderately crunchy. However, after Read More
I’m constantly evaluating my life. What isn’t working, what is working, what could I do better, where do I need to focus my energy and change? It might sound exhausting to some, but for me, it’s fun! I learned a few years ago that anything I’m not doing well isn’t something to shrink back from Read More