Savoring the Simple Life
Country Wife Chronicles is a blog that documents the journey of a country wife seeking to savor the stillness of a simple country life…but who exactly is the Country Wife?
Ok, that statement sounds a little like “How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?” But I think you get where I’m going here…
So, grab yourself some coffee and peruse the pages of this blog and you’ll find out just who the Country Wife is.
Ellie over at Ellie Eats made her way into the Paleoshere a few years ago. She’s a bright young lady, one I’m privileged to say I’m related to, with a knack for coming up with healthy creations in the kitchen. So, when I decided I wanted to explore the Paleo world a bit, I searched her blog for recipes to incorporate into our weekly meal plan.
This is my take on her Pear Galette recipe, but I swapped out the pears for some fresh, in-season nectarines. And I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with this one—especially for a Paleo recipe.
In an attempt to try out some gluten-free (GF) baking recipes, I’ve been exploring GF flour blends. Ok, if I’m being honest, after reading a bit about some digestive issues I was suffering from I decided that maybe gluten was having an impact on my intestinal tract. So, in a confident, “I’m going to get healthy” moment I splurged and bought a gigantic bag of coconut flour from Sam’s Club…thinking it would work for a straight up 1-to-1 switch out for all-purpose flour. No, nope, not really. Unless you are going for super-flat and sawdust grit in your recipes. Just sayin’.
Needless to say this massive fail on my part definitely got me thinking that maybe eating healthy sweets just isn’t meant to taste good. So I shoved the coconut flour to the back of my cabinet after a few disappointing recipe attempts and went back to my usual ingredients.
Let me start by saying I’m not a nutrition or fitness expert. I’ve struggled with my weight over the years and am constantly working to love and accept my body in its current state. But I can share with you my personal experience that has brought me to where I am today…a state of simply healthy living.
Stillness is absolutely a choice. I know, that can be hard to hear. But it’s true. Stillness is a choice that can seem obstinate and far away, even unattainable and it is definitely easier said than done, like for real. But still a choice nonetheless. I can say this, because I’ve been on the crazy train of hectic schedules and full calendars and I’ve made the choice to get off and be still. I did it, and you can too.
Perhaps, stillness is appealing to you…foreign and new, enticing you to try to figure it out. There was a time when I was absolutely overcome by my overloaded commitments and my soul sincerely yearned for stillness. Maybe you’ve been there. Maybe you are there. Trust me, coming from the other side, stillness is achievable and oh, so worth the effort.
In Part 1 of “Drawing Nearer to God in the Stillness,” I shared how I reconnect with the Lord by spending quiet time alone with Him on a daily basis. I shared with you what quiet time is and what it can look like. I am hopeful that the readers of Country Wife Chronicles also shared their own examples of what quiet time can look like in their comments on Part 1 and will do so again here.
Every once in awhile, seemingly at random, I begin to feel distanced from God…maybe only slightly, but it’s there. A prayer that feels like it’s left hanging in the atmosphere, never quite reaching the heavens. A rushed-through devotional because I just don’t have the time today to let the message sink in and truly resonate with my soul. A solemn, bummed out feeling that I can’t quite seem to place. A general lack of connection…
When Wildland Man is away and my motivation is lacking in the kitchen, I find that a nice big-batch meal is ideal. I work my magic, or lack there of, in the kitchen once for a whole lot of pay out, and then I have leftovers on hand throughout the week to reach for when I’m not wanting to make anything new. Which happens a lot. I’ve mentioned my issues with this before, right?
This breakfast hash is the perfect big-batch dish—it is so savory and yummy that I can honestly eat it for any meal of the day—not just breakfast.
Let me just state it bluntly: I had to get used to frugality. Saving instead of spending was a fairly natural mindset for me, but in a career that paid me well and increased my salary with each consecutive year, convenience buys were worth it and price tags weren’t all that important.
And then the shift…
Well, in Part 1 of this post, I filled you in on a bit of my backstory. I shared how I felt I got a little swept up in the motion of things during my college years and ended up in a career I never envisioned for myself. And how, ultimately, remaining in that unfulfilling career led to much misery and unrest on my part.
That brings us to today’s post, Part 2 of How to Walk Away from a Career…in Search of Your True Calling.