Words of Wisdom and Spinach + Eggs

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13

And also:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1: 2-4

These verses have been running through my mind lots lately. It’s been a nutty few weeks (and really, months) in our household, and I’ve been running on empty. I want this space to have a spirit of authenticity, and never want to make anyone feel like our life is without trials. But I also want it to remain a positive space where my other cares and concerns can be left behind for a short time, so I will keep choosing to focus on positive things here.

Giving thanks has also been on my mind lately, with the upcoming holiday next week. I find that holidays always magnify things, intensifying both the good and the bad. There have been definitive times in my life where I’ve felt like a particular Christmas carol is mocking me because it was so happy and cheerful and I was not, for whatever reason. Where I’ve questioned the frenzy because underneath it all I was feeling stressed or worried or otherwise upset.

It is HARD for me to choose thanks during rough patches. It’s much easier to cling to the scarcity mentality and focus on the negatives. But I’ve also found that in hard times, choosing to focus on giving thanks also lifts me up.

When Nick and I got married, our pastor gave us advice to compliment each other specifically and criticize each other generally. He said humans are so quick to do the opposite. And I find the same with thanks. It’s easy to give thanks for “family, health and home” or something along those lines, but if I actually think about all the blessings in my life in specific terms, they feel so much more real. Like a sister who, after working 84 hours last week, took the train out to visit us on her first “down” day and showered all of us with love, listening, and as an added bonus, wine, beer and a bag of cinnamon rolls!

In addition to giving thanks, I’m also trying to be kind to myself. Nick always tells me I need to put my own oxygen mask on first, figuratively. But yet I’m still always racing around, caring for everyone and everything and half the time I can’t even remember if I’ve eaten breakfast that day. So lately, if there’s one thing I can do for myself, it’s eat breakfast!

(cook, food stylist, and food blogger I am not)

This little meal is nothing new and there’s certainly no recipe, but for a non-cook it feels pretty momentous. Making and eating this while everyone else is eating their breakfast usually isn’t feasible, so lately I’ve been making it mid-morning after dropping Eloise off at school and while feeding Amelia her morning snack. She usually eats almost one of my eggs, so I make three, with a handful of spinach, all sautéed in a little BUTTER, which makes all the difference.

Obvious but true: facing the day with a full stomach is infinitely more bearable than running around hungry!