Laura Crosby

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Soul Food Cornucopia

September 25, 2015 /

How’s your week been? For me it’s been a delightfully cornucopia-full-type week of time with family and friends, and open doors to new ministry opportunities. But always along with fun “asks” comes the need for hard choices.

Saying “yes” to the best things, requires some “no’s” to some good things. When I say “best” I don’t think that necessarily means the most exciting or easiest things, but those that click with our gifts, passions, and season of life. I’ve heard from a bunch of you who are feeling stressed now, when everything is starting up and everyone seems to want or need something from you. Here’s an article I’ve been passing along that might be helpful – How to Say “No” When You Feel Pressured to say “Yes”

Aaaaannnd, if you need a little encouragement, check out this amazing video 🙂 (sorry I couldn’t embed it in the post but it’s so worth a click!)

Seeing the Instagram post below from daughter Katy, prompted me to make my own batch of one of our favorite fall treats.

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Here’s the recipe 🙂

PumpkinChocolate Chip Muffins

1/2 cup almond slivers toasted (can leave these out if you don’t like nuts)

1 2/3 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 TB pumpkin pie spice

1 ts. baking soda

1/4 ts. baking powder

1/4 ts. salt

2 eggs

1 cup plain pumpkin (I accidentally used the whole can last year and they turned out great – just more moist. And what do you do with half a can of leftover pumpkin anyway?)

1 cup chocolate chips

1 stick butter melted (ARGH! I forgot this when I made them last week, but the world didn’t end)

Mix flour, sugar, and all dry ingredients.

Break eggs in another bowl. Whisk and add butter (cooled a little) and pumpkin. Pour over dry ingredients.

Mix in Chocolate chips. Pour in greased muffin tins. Bake 20-25 minutes (less if doing mini muffins). Store in plastic container.

YUM! And you’re welcome!

While enjoying a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin, here’s a delightful book I’ve been reading, by the same author who wrote Dear Mr. Knightly. It’s about two estranged sisters – one a chef, and the other fighting cancer, and a man who is a love interest. If you’re a foodie, or like Jane Austen references, or just want a good read, try Lizzy and Jane. by Katherine Reay.

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And when this was my view as I was writing this morning, I thought of a C.S. Lewis quote John shared with me last night.

“Miracles…are a retelling in small letters the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some to see.”

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What’s been some “soul food” you’ve enjoyed this week?

Hungry

September 23, 2015 /

The other night I invited a bunch of young women over for snacky stuff and dessert, wine and coffee, candlelight, pumpkins, and “how are you’s?” They showed up looking like delightfully hip pulled-together young wives and moms.

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Not everyone had met before, so we did some get-to-know-you stuff, but as the evening wore on, I felt a distinct nudge from the Holy Spirit. Truly out of “nowhere” I felt compelled to ask them to share a little about the season of life they’re in and the character quality of God that is most important to them today.

Now it would have been easy for them to open the door to their dusted and vacuumed “living room” like I had when I invited them into my home, but instead they were brave and authentic and before I knew it there were tears and prayers and a sense of feeding each other with love.

One way to feel stronger and less alone is to invite people into your really real life – into the rooms where things aren’t quite as neat and tidy as you might like.

When we’re vulnerable we remind each other that we’re all in the same boat, all dependent on the same Star-Shooter and Storm-Shusher, rocking along on the waves, looking for True North.

When we just share our shiny confident stories we tend to get compare-ish and competitive, but when we share our doubts and insecurities we hear “me too” and  find community.

People show up in our homes and in our lives hungry. But the food we share with each other isn’t always pumpkin bars. I opened my doors with a tiny “plan”, but I’m grateful that the Holy Spirit and some brave woman walked in and made it much more.

Let me give you some food so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way. 1 Samuel 28:22

Do you have places where you can share your real life? Are you creating safe places where others can open up?

When You Don’t Feel Strong or Courageous

September 21, 2015 /

Dear Baby David,

I know you’re with Jesus, but does that mean you know what’s going on here? How the heck does that work? I want to know.

I’m back in Glen Ellyn staying with our precious Susan for a couple of days. You’ve been gone from us for two months, and the season has changed from Summer to Officially Fall. Continue reading

Soul Food from a Full Week

September 18, 2015 /

It’s been a full week. In the best sense of the word.

It’s been full of moments when God just seems so present, and people are authentic, and joy is in the air like the woodsmoke from Autumn fires. Out of that fullness I want to share a few morsels of soul food that have been life-giving.

The other day when I wrote about Holy Drones, I referred to the (almost impossible for me) practice of being still before the Lord. Just silent and still…to become aware of His loving presence, closer than our breath.  I thought I’d share an app that has helped me. Note: you can set the amount of time for silence and I set mine for 3 minutes. That’s truly the most I can manage. I’m clearly not a natural contemplative!

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I love, love, love good stories like this especially when it is men stepping up!

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And lastly, some hospitality inspiration…

We went to a couples wedding shower this weekend and I absolutely LOVED this is idea! The Bible was given to the couple at the end of the party, full of love.

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Then Wednesday night I had a bunch of young women over for a get-together and I was blown away by their vulnerability and present-ness. I made a little favor for them to take with them because I really wanted these young women who are in a stressful season of life to feel special.

However, 2 DISCLAIMERS regarding the following idea:

  1. I TOTALLY stole the idea from my friend, Mo, and tweaked it a bit for my get-together. She did something like this for a wedding shower with “She picked him.” on the tag instead. Thanks, Mo!
  2.  I like doing this, and in my season I have more margin, BUT making this kind of crafty gifty thing isn’t for everyone or for every season and THAT’S OK! We all have different gifts (My house was dusty and weeds have overtaken my gardens). More important to be present and welcoming than have a gift! Also, I did homemade caramel, but you could do store-bought if you want to make it easier. IMG_1568IMG_1563

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What about you? Any soul food to share with the rest of us? What inspired you this week?

3 Times Not to Let it Go

September 16, 2015 /

The other day John was acting…you know…clueless and insensitive as men do sometimes. (Women never do that, right?)

Anyway, it was late and I was going up to bed. But my feelings were hurt.

Now at this point I had a decision to make. Was this a minor thing that could be blanketed in grace and forgotten, or was it something that would affect our relationship going forward if I didn’t address it?

Whether it’s in a marriage or friendship or work relationship, I think we face this tension often.

  • You have a friend who arranges to meet at you 6:00 and calls to cancel at 5:58.
  • You come downstairs feeling pretty good and your husband (thinking he’s paying you a compliment) says “Honey you look autumnal!” (I happen to have some first-had experience with this one. Men, let me just warn you, don’t do it. Your wife will hear, “You look like a pumpkin!”)
  • You’re struggling with infertility and have a friend who is constantly complaining about her kids.
  • An acquaintance moans to you about her weight when she clearly weighs a number you haven’t seen on the scale since you were 13.

Proverbs 19:11 says:

‘Good sense makes a man restrain his anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression or an offense’.

When we’re dinged, our go-to is supposed to be grace, right? We’re forgiven, so we need to be forgiving. Let it go. Let it goooooo.

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But there are times when we need to be brave and talk out the offense with the offender.

I can think of 3 times that we shouldn’t let an offense slide: Continue reading

Holy Drones

September 14, 2015 /

One of my closest friends who, like me, is sure she would make a great CIA operative, is paranoid about drones. She is suspicious that foreign governments are spying on her. So for her birthday last week John and I decided to have a little fun.

We have a friend who just happens to have a drone and lives two blocks away from the birthday girl.  So we deployed the drone while our friends were outside playing a birthday game of basketball (you know…like you do when you’re a 56 year old woman…).IMG_1532

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Anyway, this is a long way around to saying, it got me to thinking about all the holy “drones” that we’re oblivious to. Not drones in a sneaky spyish way, but the unseen forces of God that fight for us.

I was reminded of this too back in July.

One day, as my brother David was in the hospital hovering between life and Life, our friend, Lee, who was miraculously healed of Pancreatic cancer, sat by David’s bedside alone.

Afterwards, Lee journaled about her experience and graciously shared the thoughts she had written about her time with David. Continue reading

Soul Food When all the News Seems Bad

September 11, 2015 /

Most mornings John says I’m annoyingly Tigger-like, bounding out of bed excited to seize the day. Many days recently though, I really just want to be more possum than Tigger and burrow into the soft comfiness of down pillows and warm blankets, keeping my eyes closed to the news of bad guys, hard hearts, pictures of desperate refugees fleeing Syria and the lifeless body of a precious little boy on a beach in Turkey.

Instead, today, I want to join people around the world who are choosing life. I want to say, “We see you. You are not alone and we’re going to do our best to help.”

First, what others are doing – where we can see God’s fingerprints – and then what we can do.

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World Vision is doing more than any other humanitarian organization on the ground to help Syrian refugees. Take a look at some good news and then donate here as a way of choosing life today.

And lastly, we serve a God who always makes room at the table. You can help by signing this petition to make room for those in need.

This was part of my reading yesterday. Sometimes God is about as subtle as a mack truck, eh? 🙂

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5 Things to Consider When Telling Someone About Their Blind Spots

September 9, 2015 /

Monday I posted about blind spots, feedback, and the cones in our tree we may be missing.

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It’s really hard to be a good receiver of feedback, but I think we also need to be good givers of feedback.

  • When we give feedback we’re essentially saying that someone else is worth investing in.  They have potential. I care enough about you to tell you about this cone in your tree.
  • When we give feedback we envision a better future for the person.  We give them the tools to grow. Here’s how you might get rid of that cone.
  • When we give feedback we give people perspective. We help them zoom out to see this was just one game, or one talk, or one project that’s part of the bigger picture of who they are becoming. That cone doesn’t have to hold you back forever.

How do we do that well, though? I’m no expert, but I was thinking of this in the context of some young women I mentor. It’s more an art than a science, but it seems there are several things to be aware of. Continue reading

Is There a Safety Cone in Your Tree?

September 7, 2015 /

The other day a friend and I were walking around Lake Harriet and all of a sudden I stopped. Something weird caught my eye. Something was not quite right.

I looked up, and this is what I saw.FullSizeRender-32

So many questions!

Who? Why? How come?

And did anyone else notice, or just walk by, oblivious?

It made me think of a talk at the Global Leadership Summit and wonder how many cones are in my tree that I’m unaware of. Continue reading

Soul Food For When Loss Threatens to Overwhelm & You Want to Hold onto Summer

September 4, 2015 /

I don’t know about you, but it’s been a tough week here. A bunch of loss and a boatload of things coming to an end as the season changes. I keep thinking of that commercial with the fair rides slowly grinding to a halt and the lights going out. I see the leaves starting to turn and I want to say “NOOOOOOOO!! Stop the madness!”

I’ve needed to remind myself this week…

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Anyway, this Friday I thought I’d start by sharing some literal food first, and then we’ll move to the spiritual and emotional.

  1. My friend Heather is a health coach. She brought this delicious appetizer spread to a cookout recently. Because it’s from her, I’m sure it must include magical anti-aging properties and a cure for cancer. I don’t know the name of it, but let’s call it Heather’s Hodgepodge.

All you do is go to Trader Joe’s and buy:

1 container of lentils from the refrigerator section

1 container of bruschetta

1 container of feta cheese

IMG_1413Mix them all together and serve with crackers (Gluten free of whatever!). I don’t even like lentils and I’m not crazy about feta, but I wanted to wrap my arms around this nectar of the gods and eat. the. whole. thing. Amazing!

2. Under the category of Stone Soup type recipes I thought I’d share this salad I created last week out of necessity because I didn’t have all the ingredients for any one recipe and my small group was coming over. It was delicious if I do say so myself 🙂  – fresh and healthy. Never mind that it was kind of an “accident”. I think I’m going to call it Laura’s Salad of Awesomeness 🙂 Because it was an “accident” you can play with amounts.

  • 1/2 cup cooked quinoa (cuz that’s all I had – you could use a cup if you want)
  • about 3 ears fresh corn off the cob
  • 1/2 red onion finely diced
  • about a cup of those sweet cherry tomatoes halved (I had Nature Sweet Cherubs)
  • 1 15 oz. can black beans rinsed
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
  • frozen cooked jumbo shrimp cut into half inch pieces (I had bags of shrimp I had gotten on sale in the freezer, but you can omit this if you just want to use this as a side dish and not a dinner salad)

Dressing: 1/4 cup olive oil, juice of one lemon (1/4 c.), 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. black pepper, 1/2 t. garlic powder, 1/2 t. cumin, 1 t. honey. Again, I give you full permission to play with these amounts. I did. You’re welcome.

I added a little garlic salt to the salad just because who doesn’t love more garlic, right?  Also, I like dressing it early to let it soak up the flavor.

The moral of this story? Lack may lead to innovation may lead to deliciousness!

3. Next… A little spiritual soul food.

So many people around me are in pits of disappointment, despair, or darkness. This message by Max Lucado from last year, guest preaching at NCC, is called You’re Gonna Get Through This (I think it’s hysterical that I can identify my friend, Heather’s laugh throughout this recording 🙂 ). This is so encouraging!  If you really can’t listen the whole thing, watch from 24 minutes on.

One of my favorite lines is “Don’t equate the presence of God with a good mood.”

4. Lastly, a little mojo picker-upper.  A book to make you laugh and say, “Oh, you too?”  I just finished reading For the Love by Jen Hatmaker.  You may remember my small group got started around Jen’s book, 7, so she has a good track record in these parts.

In her new book she is funny, and feisty, sarcastic and self-deprecating as we’ve come to expect. The book isn’t so much overtly about grace as it is a series of essays on all things of interest to Jen in which the aroma of grace permeates like popcorn at the movies. It ranges from the fun and frivolous (like Fashion Concerns) to the pointed and important (Dear Church and Dear Christians). And it has a few recipes I can’t wait to try, so there’s that!

A couple of favorite quotes:

  • “If you can make a pot of chili and use a cell phone, then you can create community.”
  •  “Anytime the rich and poor combine, we should listen to whoever has the least power.”

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What about you? What soul food are you feasting on this week?

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