Sunday, October 16, 2016

Another Move!

I am overjoyed to announce that in June of this year I made the move back to one of my homelands, Florida! I currently reside in Lakeland, Florida, the same town as my sister and her husband and NEW BABY. With the birth of Lailah Faye, I felt like God hammered (lightly. with one of those plastic blow-up hammers) into my head that I needed to up and move. So I did! Actually, my whole family did. But for the first time in over three years, I'm living on my own,  in my own apartment, in sort of my own town. 15 minutes away from my sister. And I have never felt so blessed. What's more, I've been cooking more. Just about every night. With the move back to Florida, where I spent high school and some college years, I feel like my old self is back. I feel like a lifelong issue with depression is starting to lift. And after years of putting cooking on the back burner (no pun intended), I am happy to be back in the kitchen. I haven't blogged in so long, because I feel like I wasn't sure how to tap into my voice. But I have SO much to write! And SO many recipes to try. And life is improving for me. And I couldn't be more thankful. It's as though the dark fog has lifted, and there is light again. So, I am blogging again. I cannot promise any kind of routine or regularity, because this IS me we're talking about, but I can vow to try. :)

Oh! And I changed the name back to the blog's original name, And Be Merry. I have decided to stick with Blogger instead of other hosts, because I'm more content-driven than tech-driven. I tried Wordpress but I honestly did not even know what I was doing. I'm not that into techie stuff. I AM into writing and cooking. And I want to cook and write as much as I can, for as long as I can. I started this blog in college and had high hopes of becoming a food blogger/food and restaurant critic. I won't go into EVERYTHING that's happened over the past 8 years or so, but being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease sure put a pause- stop- rather, on my hopes and dreams.

But God has brought me to the point, with tons of prayer, a new scene and wonderful family and friends, to the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. And how grateful am I!

For so many years I felt like I was willingly wandering in the wilderness (English major- Can't stop won't stop the weird alliteration), and just about a month ago I realized that my faith informs everything I do, that I want, CRAVE, my relationship with Christ, and that it is the very thing I've been searching for for so many years. I'm grateful for the journey, but my how much better it is with my Savior. I am hoping to stay strong, steadfast, and sincere in my approach back to God. And I am overwhelmed by this newfound desire and PASSION to cling to Him and the Scriptures. It feels like my 16 year old self is back, smiling, saying "welcome back, I've missed you."

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." -Zephaniah 3:17









Sunday, October 16, 2016

Another Move!

I am overjoyed to announce that in June of this year I made the move back to one of my homelands, Florida! I currently reside in Lakeland, Florida, the same town as my sister and her husband and NEW BABY. With the birth of Lailah Faye, I felt like God hammered (lightly. with one of those plastic blow-up hammers) into my head that I needed to up and move. So I did! Actually, my whole family did. But for the first time in over three years, I'm living on my own,  in my own apartment, in sort of my own town. 15 minutes away from my sister. And I have never felt so blessed. What's more, I've been cooking more. Just about every night. With the move back to Florida, where I spent high school and some college years, I feel like my old self is back. I feel like a lifelong issue with depression is starting to lift. And after years of putting cooking on the back burner (no pun intended), I am happy to be back in the kitchen. I haven't blogged in so long, because I feel like I wasn't sure how to tap into my voice. But I have SO much to write! And SO many recipes to try. And life is improving for me. And I couldn't be more thankful. It's as though the dark fog has lifted, and there is light again. So, I am blogging again. I cannot promise any kind of routine or regularity, because this IS me we're talking about, but I can vow to try. :)

Oh! And I changed the name back to the blog's original name, And Be Merry. I have decided to stick with Blogger instead of other hosts, because I'm more content-driven than tech-driven. I tried Wordpress but I honestly did not even know what I was doing. I'm not that into techie stuff. I AM into writing and cooking. And I want to cook and write as much as I can, for as long as I can. I started this blog in college and had high hopes of becoming a food blogger/food and restaurant critic. I won't go into EVERYTHING that's happened over the past 8 years or so, but being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease sure put a pause- stop- rather, on my hopes and dreams.

But God has brought me to the point, with tons of prayer, a new scene and wonderful family and friends, to the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. And how grateful am I!

For so many years I felt like I was willingly wandering in the wilderness (English major- Can't stop won't stop the weird alliteration), and just about a month ago I realized that my faith informs everything I do, that I want, CRAVE, my relationship with Christ, and that it is the very thing I've been searching for for so many years. I'm grateful for the journey, but my how much better it is with my Savior. I am hoping to stay strong, steadfast, and sincere in my approach back to God. And I am overwhelmed by this newfound desire and PASSION to cling to Him and the Scriptures. It feels like my 16 year old self is back, smiling, saying "welcome back, I've missed you."

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." -Zephaniah 3:17