The blog
Writings on food, faith, creativity, and family, all with the goal of helping you nourish your soul.
Welcome to my little home on the Internet! If you were in my actual house, I’d offer you a drink and start raiding the pantry for snacks so we dive into the deep stuff (I’m not great at small talk). My internet home isn’t much different–there’s food to savor and words to mull over about everything from faith to creativity to family.
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10 Children’s Books Celebrating Food, Family, and Culture
How we cook and eat is one of the most beautiful ways to express ourselves, our family traditions, and our cultures, and there’s an intimacy that develops when we eat with others.
Phil Rosenthal, creator of Everybody Loves Raymond and star of Somebody Feed Phil said, “You know you sit down and you eat with people you just met, and by the time you’re done eating, you’re a little bit closer. That’s the idea, right?”
I think that’s so true–and so powerful. Eating together can be a catalyst for understanding, community building, and even healing.
It’s been hard over the last year to eat with others the way we used to in the pre-pandemic days, but there are still ways to savor and celebrate the beauty of food and each other. My kids and I have been reading a variety of children’s books all about food, family, and culture, and it’s opened their eyes–and my own–to a culinary world much bigger than our own kitchen table.
The Day of the Dead and the Giver of Life
A few days ago on my Instagram Stories, I shared someone’s post that I had come across about the Day of the Dead. I was attempting to learn and appreciate more about this Mexican holiday, but it turns out, I didn’t take the time to get all the information. The post I shared (which I’ve since taken down) made this holiday seem light-hearted, harmless, and joyful–and to be honest, I failed to do my research. My friend, Cynthia, kindly responded to me with additional information, showing me that there was more to the story.
We moved our conversation to email, and Cynthia sent me facts as well as her stories and opinions about the Day of the Dead. I realized how little I knew–and how easy it can be to believe things are harmless, when in reality, we are fighting a very real spiritual battle.
Cynthia’s words were so helpful and eye-opening, and I asked her if I could share them with you here. In the following post, she offers personal experiences, facts about the Day of the Dead, her own opinions, and then a closing story to help us to recognize the spiritual forces of evil trying to take us down. But, as she writes below, “Of course, Jesus wins. His light breaks through the darkness.”