So Like, What Do You Do For Work? + the latest
Howdy!
As you may, or most likely may not have noticed, I was off of social media for a while. It’s becoming more of a habit these days to take random breaks from social media where I just delete my apps and live offline for days or weeks at a time. And I’ve got to say… I really like that life. I like not being attached at the hip (hand) to my device and to my online world. It’s really nice living presently in my day-to-day life with my husband and my home and my puppy, with no online strings attached.
Don’t get me wrong, I do miss the connection I get to have when I’m online. And I miss the creative outlet that it provides for me as well. In reality, I like sharing on social media. Whether it be a simple recipe, Sam being a goofball, or what the Lord has been teaching me lately, I think there will always be a part of me that loves to share.
I do believe however that there are necessary boundaries that need to be in place in order to show up as honestly as possible. We all have to be honest with ourselves about what is best for us, our bodies, our families, and our relationship with the Lord. And I’d argue that more often than not, the best thing for all of us to is to hang up the socials and hang out in the real world for a good long while.
ANYWAY! With all of that said, here’s what you came for: the latest! This one has long-time-coming vibes since I started writing this blog post on April 11th (lol), so there’s lots to catch up on.
Easter Fast & The Food Thereof
Sam and I fasted with our church for the 12 days leading up to Easter. Our fast was a bit of a mixed bag. We fasted all social media, meat (except eggs), sugar, coffee, and partial dairy. We also fasted spending. Specifically, spending at the grocery store. So, part of our fast was making due with what we had. In all honesty, that was the hardest part! But when it comes to fasting, the pain is kind of the point.
Here are some of the meals I prepared for us during the fast:
Here we have a oft seen veggie tray for lunches. Hard boiled eggs with chili lime seasoning, sweet potato and seed chips, whole wheat toast squares, mini bells and cucumbers, basil pesto hummus and homemade tzatziki.
In order of appearance we have: eggs fried in homemade chili onion crunch (EVOO, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, chopped onion, garlic). Grain free sweet potato nachos (avocado, tomato, lime, chipotle pepper sauce), Mediterranean rice + roasted chickpeas with grilled naan + mini bells, my FAVORITE pasta ever— pesto pasta with roasted broccoli, open face grated egg sandwich and roasted potatoes with fried egg.
One of the best days of the fast was when we celebrated ten months of marriage on April 6th and we went to get matcha + chai. It was good for my soul to get out of the house and spend time together doing something fun and drinking something Daniel himself would have approved of.
Two of the best things I made from scratch include my favorite Whole Foods green juice (spinach, kale, lemon, celery, ginger, green apple + coconut water) and a golden turmeric latte (coconut milk, cinnamon, turmeric, maple syrup, and I think I did a little pumpkin spice in there too!) Both so delicious and I was so sad when they were gone.
Ok But Like, What Do You Do For Work?
The main thing I was praying about going into this fast was for clarity and direction in regards to my work.
Before I met my husband in November 2020, I was a full time entrepreneur. I was making it happen for myself as an online creator and social media influencer, if you will. I had quit my job as a server five months prior, despite being offered a full-time, well paying job in restaurant management and was t h r i v i n g doing what I felt called to do in that season: reaching people online with the Gospel. It’s also when reels were introduced to Instagram and my following almost doubled overnight. It seemed like I was just on the cusp of some really big things happening in my career as a creator.
But when I met Sam, naturally, my season and my priorities drastically, joyously shifted. Suddenly, I was falling in love, planning a wedding, and preparing for marriage. I was still working, just enough to pay my bills really, but much of the way I had previously structured my life was slowly but surely starting to change.
I stopped working a week before our wedding in June 2021. In September, I took a remote part-time job as a marketing manager for a Cybersecurity firm and picked up another remote gig in December as a copyeditor for a creative agency.
But in early 2022, I felt a strong sense that these jobs were not how I was to be spending my time, despite the income they helped me bring in.
For one thing, I didn’t enjoy doing them. Listen. I’ve done my TIME doing jobs I didn’t like. There is serious character that is forged when you are in the fire of learning fortitude and consistency and faithfulness despite being in a job you, for lack of a better word (because there is none), hate.
This was different. It wasn’t that I was trying to get out of something God was trying to teach me. I knew in my spirit that these jobs were a way to fill a void in my heart. I had gotten to the place where I was telling myself:
“I need to be working and making money because that’s what people do…they work and make money. That’s what I do as an independent, boss babe woman. I work. I provide for myself. I make money. I have to have a job to be successful.”
I didn’t know why I had such an unshakeable sense of discontentment in these jobs. But as Sam and I fasted and prayed, the Lord showed me clearly what he’s been trying to teach me all year.
“I don’t measure success the way the world does,” He said.
“I don’t count you worthy of life if you’ve worked and ground the one you have down to the bone. You do not earn your value in the jobs you take, the cashflow you produce, the busyness you amass, or the waves you make in your industry. In fact, you cannot earn your value to me at all.”
He went on.
“You are valuable to me simply because you ARE. Your net worth was estimated and established at the cross. Heavenly, true, Godly success in my Kingdom is measured in faithfulness, obedience, steadfastness, and trust. It is measured in loving me, and serving those around you in love. Godly success is seeking and putting Me first, leaning into My Word and growing right where you are planted. That is the real definition of success.”
And so, for this season of life I’ve given up work in the way I once knew it. Less about income for my bank account and more about investment into my husband and my home. If that sounds very 50’s housewife to you, don’t worry, it sounds like that to me, too. And there was a time I told myself I’d never be that girl. But here we are, livin’ and lovin’ and obeyin’ God, day by day.
My days are slow, and tucked-in, and restful, and quiet. Like all seasons, I know this one won’t last forever. God also spoke to me during the fast that he has a Kingdom assignment He is preparing for me. I have no idea what it is or what it will look like, but I know the days of slow and steady and quiet will soon be met with long, hard days of Kingdom work. And so, with hope in my heart for what God is preparing for me, I will be exactly where I am. I will dig deep roots, I will water and prune as needed, I will grow.
I’m exactly where God wants me to be.