Month: July 2023
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How My Writing Bag Inspired Me
Hello, tender friends! As writers, we may say our identity is deeper than our productivity. But that argument doesn’t work when bills need to be paid. I resisted the idea that the “right” writing materials would make a difference for a long time. The idea that a notebook or writing bag would make a discernible…
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Celebrating Success!
Hello, tender friends! We peered into the chicken coop. Cub shouted, “Hooray!” Anthony and I picked him up and twirled him around. “We did it!” I said to Anthony. I’ll never forget that family moment we had when we realized two of our chickens laid their first eggs! (Sorry about the pictures being so pixelated…it’s…
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7 Strategies for Increasing Emotional Resilience
Hello, tender friends! We don’t need to live enslaved to our emotions, but I didn’t know how to break free for for far too long. I spent years praying that God would reveal the desires of my own heart to me. Years. I was so disconnected from myself that I didn’t even know what would…
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My Testimony
Originally posted on Jeffrey H. King's Blog: Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.??? Psalm 50:15 I know I posted an article about my bout with COVID, being in an induced coma for three weeks in January and on a ventilator, and finally coming…
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How WeedING Helps Me Relax and Sleep Well
Hello, tender friends! Yes, weedING. You don’t need to smoke weed to get that special feeling, just stick your hands in the soil. Remember what it felt like, as a kid, to be the good kind of tired? Not the depleted caffeine crashrunningaroundonempty feeling of adulthood, but that blissful sleep you used to experience after…
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Terrible to Tasty Squash Soup
Hello, tender friends! Does the world really need another squash soup recipe? I’ve typically viewed squash soup as glorified water, and the truth is that my first batch wasn’t great. So I cheated. I cheated! I added bell pepper and tomatoes to my second batch, and the results were delicious. Maybe it doesn’t count as…
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Answered Prayers at the County Fair
Hello, tender friends! Bumper cars. The Ferris Wheel. Fun house mirrors. Flashing lights. Funnel cake. Blooming onions. Okay, you know by now that there’s no way that we ate funnel cake or blooming onions, but the smell was nice. That’s one of those iconic fair savory smells, isn’t it? We’ve taken Cub to the local…
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Summer Garden Squash Fire Recipe
Hello, tender friends! In the words of Nelly, “It’s gettin’ hot in here.” The summer heat has arrived in Southwest Virginia. But we’re continuing to crank the heat up even higher…by eating hot peppers. I’ve been looking forward to that slightly painful beginning of season burn on the tongue, and it hasn’t disappointed! We have…
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The Day I Lost My Fear of Demons
Hello, tender friends! It turns out that Anthony could not take the day off of work today for our day trip, so here we are. Even though I’m pretty far out in my healing, this is hard to think about. My arms and chest feel jittery, like electricity is going through them. But I believe…
tea and tenderness 