curate and celebrate

AWAKEN AND RENEW

For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Zephaniah 3:17 NLT

Photo taken by my sister

TWEAK AND NOURISH

ABUNDANT GARDEN HARVEST: PARSLEY It's amazing how much we've harvested from our backyard this time! Growing parsley used to be a struggle for us. My husband and I have lost track of how many times we tried to grow it. But now, for the first time, we've got enough to whip up some tabouli salad and toss it into a quinoa dish too!

Tabouli Salad

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets and Chickpeas

CREATE AND EVOLVE

ST PATRICK'S DAY GIFT: MONOGRAMMED HAND TOWELS FOR MY AUNT'S IRISH FRIEND

Shades of Green

REFOCUS AND DELIGHT

A CALL TO AWARENESS AND ACTION. THE FIRE WITHIN US. Our journey on this earth is filled with challenges and continual seasons in valleys. Our response to these challenges hinges on our self-perception and identity. When asked who you are, do you define yourself by your profession? For those who identify as children of the Most High God and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, they proudly call themselves the chosen people. As stated in 1 Peter 2:9: But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Living in God's wonderful light empowers us to find joy even amidst suffering and trials. Paul writes in Romans 5:3-5: We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Let us pause and reflect on how dearly God loves us.

God's love is a powerful force. It enables us to endure the fiery trials we face. How do we remain steadfast? 1 Peter 5:8-10 states: Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness, God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. Let us trust in his promise to restore, support, strengthen, and establish us. Similarly, in Ephesians 6:10, Paul writes: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

Concluding with Peter's words in 2 Peter 1:3-11: By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. So dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This passage underscores the importance of enhancing faith with moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, and brotherly affection with love.

How do you keep the fire glowing within you?