| motherhood |

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Sarah J. Hauser | writer + omnivore

Hi! I’m Sarah.

I'm a wife, mama, writer, and omnivore living in the Chicago suburbs. I eat too much guac and never follow a recipe exactly. I’m learning to taste that God is good, and I write words and create recipes to help others do the same.

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Meet my grandma. ⠀
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She passed away a number of years ago, and I still think about her often. She laughed hard and made hilarious comments. ⠀
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She went to Disney World with her sister and rented electric wheelchairs so they could cut in line (they were elderly but both perfectly healthy). Then they had to return them halfway through the day because they ran out the batteries racing around the park. ⠀
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Pretty much the only movies (VHS of course) she owned were Billy Graham sermons, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Dumb and Dumber—her favorite. ⠀
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I wish you could have known her in real life. She was the epitome of joy (as you can see).⠀
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This. This is what I want to be like when I’m 80...literally overflowing with so much joy that everyone around me can’t help but soak it up. ⠀
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I’ve got a ways to go in that. But gosh, I’m grateful for her example. ⠀
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So if you feel lacking in joy or you just need a Friday boost, save this image of my grandma. My guess is you can’t look at her without smiling. Her joy is even contagious in a years-old photograph. 💛⠀
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“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” -Romans 15:13

Anyone else needing an extra cup of coffee today? 🙋🏻‍♀️⠀⠀
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Here's your Thursday pick-me-up...⠀⠀
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Cold Brew + Pomegranate Soda⠀⠀
Yields 1 drink⠀⠀
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¼ cup pomegranate juice (make sure it’s 100% pomegranate juice)⠀⠀
¼ cup cold brew coffee (such as @fgroast's Black Ice Brew)⠀⠀
2-4 teaspoons simple syrup⠀⠀
1-2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice⠀⠀
½ cup sparkling water⠀⠀
Ice⠀⠀
Lemon slices for serving⠀⠀
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Add the pomegranate juice, coffee, 2 teaspoons of simple syrup, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to a glass filled with ice. Stir well until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. ⠀⠀
Top with sparkling water to taste. (I use about a ½ cup of sparkling water.) Stir gently, and add more simple syrup or lemon juice if desired. Serve with a lemon slice and enjoy!

“We chase after fast results only to feel inadequate when they don’t happen...We often think of slow growth as flawed growth.”⠀
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That quote has stuck with me ever since I heard @laracasey say it in one of her early podcast episodes (I think episode 4). I don’t like slow growth. I want instant gratification. Even looking out at my tomato plants today, I found myself slightly annoyed they didn’t stand taller and look more ready to produce fruit (which could be in part due to my poor gardening skills). I want what’s quick and easy. ⠀
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Is that really even growth at all? If it’s quick and easy, did we stretch, bend, and change through it? Maybe sometimes, I suppose. There are always exceptions and outliers. But more often, growth comes slowly. It comes through careful tending and painful pruning...and plenty of time. ⠀
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I’m not where I want to be in many areas of my life, but as I look back on the last year has there been growth? Undeniably. So I’m rejoicing in that and pressing onward. ⠀
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👉🏻What about you? Where have you seen growth, even if it’s been slow? Because sometimes what feels the slowest has actually been the deepest. 🌱

Wednesdays have ended up being a day when I can do a little non-parenting work. I've been sitting here at the computer for a couple hours typing and clicking away...with little to show for it. ⠀⠀
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Ever have those days? I know the time has been productive, but sometimes it's frustrating when you feel like you haven't "produced" anything.⠀⠀
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I suppose the one thing I've done is updating a few images on my blog and social accounts, so here you go. Apparently the one thing I have to show for today is my face. Now I shall crawl inside my closet and hide, because this showing your face on the Interwebs thing scares me. 🙈⠀⠀
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Happy hump day, friends. Here's to showing our faces online and in life. 🎉🍸⠀
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[Thank you to @taylorraephoto for the headshots!]

The other night when I was getting ready for bed, my one-year-old woke up crying. I can't remember why—maybe a bad dream or thunderstorm or something. ⠀
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I brought him in my room and sang to him until he calmed down. Then he rolled to his side, laid his head on my arm, and curled up in a little ball. He fell asleep, completely content and at peace. (And I took full advantage of this snuggle time, since this kiddo never stops moving!)⠀⠀
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I was reminded of that image after reading Psalm 131 this morning. My soul usually feels more chaotic and loud than calm and quiet, especially on Mondays. But our God invites us to know a peace that we can't even fathom, a peace that comes from resting in the arms of God.⠀⠀
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🌿 When's the last time your soul was calm and quiet? Not your circumstances...your soul? ⠀⠀
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🌿 How can you calm and quiet your soul this week? ⠀⠀
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I'm thinking through those questions myself and starting by meditating on Psalm 131. If you need to pause for a minute and do that, too, you can read the whole chapter below. Have a wonderful Monday! ❤️⠀⠀
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"O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;⠀⠀
my eyes are not raised too high;⠀⠀
I do not occupy myself with things⠀⠀
too great and too marvelous for me.⠀⠀
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,⠀⠀
like a weaned child with its mother;⠀⠀
like a weaned child is my soul within me.⠀⠀
O Israel, hope in the LORD⠀⠀
from this time forth and forevermore."

Happy Friday! Nothing says summer like a dish full of berries and a scoop of ice cream. This morning I let my normal snacktime rules slide and my kids dove into this dessert. Now I’m fighting to get berry stains out of clothes. 🤦🏻‍♀️⠀
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What's your favorite summer treat? Let me know in the comments! 🍦🍓⠀⠀
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[This is @inagarten's Tri-Berry Crumble—with a few tweaks because I can't manage to follow a recipe 100 percent. So good and perfect for summer! More on this to come with the #summercookbookclub starting July 1!]

“Let me enter this new day,⠀
aware of my need,⠀
and awake⠀
to your grace,⠀
O Lord.⠀
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Amen.”⠀
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[From “A Liturgy for the Ritual of Morning Coffee” in @everymomentholy]

I've been so sporadic on social media lately, and I wish I could say it's because I was taking an intentional break.⠀⠀
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In reality, I found myself mindlessly scrolling instead of using this space intentionally and purposefully. Unfortunately, that seems to happen all too often.⠀⠀
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I know there are both pros and cons of social media. I love using it for connecting with people, and I'm also a big advocate for taking intentional breaks, because it's too easy for me to look around at everything everyone else is doing and forget the work God's put in front of me.⠀⠀
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So tell me: ⠀
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🌿 What's one way you purposefully use social media? What do you like about it?⠀⠀
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OR⠀⠀
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🌿 When do you start to notice you need a break, or it's become unhealthy? What red flags occur in your life that help you realize something needs to change?⠀
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I'd love to hear! My answers are in the first comment!⠀⠀
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[📷: @sincerelynicolerose]

I’ve been struggling all day with what to write. How do you sum up 9 years of marriage in an Instagram post?

It’s not all romance. Most of it’s not, in fact. Our life probably looks less “romantic” now than it ever has.

But I’ve never loved him more.

There are a thousand reasons why. I hesitate to recount the ways, because it can so easily turn into a social media comparison game. You see a highlight of our lives that I post on our anniversary but miss the everyday messes.

This I know: life is not a highlight reel. And marriage certainly isn’t either.

My husband is incredible. If you know him personally, you know this. But it’s not because of the highlight reel. It’s not because of the wedding and honeymoon and date nights and laughs—although I’m grateful for those parts of our life together.

It’s because of the mundane, ordinary ways he shows me Jesus—the ones that add up to nothing less than extraordinary. It’s because I’m becoming more like Christ by being married to him.

It’s because this marriage thing is freakin’ hard, but every day his faithfulness points me to the faithfulness of God.

Happy anniversary, babe. I love you.
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[📷: @annaguziak]

A midweek prayer for the ordinary days...⠀⠀
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"And so I offer this small service to you, O Lord,
for you make no distinction between
those acts that bring a person
the wide praise of their peers
and those unmarked acts
that are accomplished in a quiet obedience
without accolade.

O God, grant that my heart
might be ordered aright,
knowing that all good service
faithfully rendered
is first a service rendered unto you."
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(From "A Liturgy For Domestic Days” in @everymomentholy)⠀
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[📷: @taypaigey]

Sometimes my day flies in a trajectory I didn’t want it to go. ⠀
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The unplanned happens—sickness, skipped naps, surprise needs—and I struggle to regain momentum. I easily want to throw in the towel and declare that whatever I attempted is just not worth it. ⠀
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This often happens whenever I plan something “fun” for our family. And then they throw tantrums, it rains, plans change, and my unrealistic expectations of a family outing are demolished. Or I resolve to exercise. And I get a stomach bug and it is so freakin’ hard to restart any good habits I once had. ⠀
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But the moment is not the whole story. I often confuse this. I view a bad day as the end result, a poor decision as a verdict of failure, a moment of anger as the way my children will remember me forever. ⠀
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Yes, the moments add up. We have to be careful and thoughtful about our moments. ⠀
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But there’s a story being woven with our pain, monotony, frustration, discouragement, and disappointment—a story built with moments we didn’t choose or plan. ⠀
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The moments may be hard. ⠀
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But by God’s grace, the story can still be good. ⠀
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👉🏻Anyone else had some unwanted “moments” this week? Tag a friend who needs encouragement! ❤️⠀
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[Thank you @emilypfreeman for your wisdom and insight in your book, The Next Right Thing! Friends, snag a copy wherever books are sold!]

This morning I made a batch of Red Lentil Soup and shared a bit of the process in my stories. I thought I'd make it easy for you to snag the recipe by sharing it here! 🍲⁣⠀
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It's the perfect soup for rainy spring days, and you can also double the batch and freeze it. This time around, I didn't have quite enough lentils, so I threw some canned chickpeas. I might make that adjustment every time! ⁣⠀
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👉🏻Check out the recipe below, and click the save button to mark it for future cooking. ⁣⠀
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What's on your table tonight? ⁣⠀
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Red Lentil Soup⁣⠀
Yields 4 servings⁣⠀
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1 Tablespoon olive oil⁣⠀
4 medium carrots, sliced thinly⁣⠀
1 small onion, chopped⁣⠀
2 teaspoons cumin⁣⠀
1/2 teaspoon turmeric⁣⠀
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes⁣⠀
4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)⁣⠀
1 cup water⁣⠀
1 cup dried red lentils⁣⠀
1/2 teaspoon salt⁣⠀
1/4 teaspoon black pepper⁣⠀
1 (5 ounce) bag fresh spinach⁣⠀
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In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and carrots, and cook until the onions are translucent, about 3-5 minutes. ⁣⠀
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Add the cumin and turmeric and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the can of tomatoes (with the liquid), broth, water, lentils, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat to medium and simmer, partially covered, until the lentils and carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. ⁣⠀
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Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach. Give it a few stirs until the spinach wilts. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!⁣⠀
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Note: This soup freezes really well, so I usually double the recipe and freeze half of it.

For toddler laughs and four-year-old imaginations, chaotic family dinners and baked chicken, spring rains and warm clothes...⠀
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...I am grateful. ⠀
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🌿What are you grateful for today? #getaftergrateful

I've learned two things about many of us in the last 24 hours. ⠀
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1. We don't enjoy parenting like we hoped (or at least a particular stage of parenting). ⠀
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and ⠀
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2. We feel really guilty about it. ⠀
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Guilt seems to be a heavy weight many of us carry. But we have to understand where our "guilty feelings" come from.⠀
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They can be like pain from an injury. The pain tells us there's an issue to deal with. If that's the case, if our guilt actually points to a sin issue, then we confess, and He is faithful and just to forgive us. Godly grief produces repentance. So we repent and live with freedom and joy knowing that our sin has been dealt with on the cross. We live in a new way because we've been changed by that reality. ⠀
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But so many of us carry around self-inflicted guilt that comes from things like comparison or unrealistic expectations. ⠀
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This has been a struggle for me personally, and after reading comments yesterday, it's clear I'm not the only one. ⠀
So let me offer 3 diagnostic questions when we feel guilty. ⠀
1️⃣ Is this feeling of guilt because of a sin issue? ⠀
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2️⃣ Is this feeling of guilt because I'm trying to do something beyond what God’s called me to—which then leads me to exhaustion and overwhelm?⠀
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3️⃣ Is this feeling of guilt simply because of a cultural, family, or self-imposed expectation that’s not necessary for me to fulfill—and may even be unhealthy?⠀
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Friends, these all need to be dealt with differently. Too many of us deal with unmet expectations like a moral failure. Or sometimes we dismiss our sin by saying it's merely a self-imposed expectation.⠀
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There's much more to dig into here, and one IG post doesn't even crack the surface. I shared some more thoughts on IG Live (which should be available until tomorrow afternoon), and I want to keep this conversation going. ⠀
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👉🏻Tell me: Is this something you wrestle with?⠀
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Too many of us walk around with a crushing weight of guilt on our shoulders when we could be parenting with the freedom and joy that comes through Christ. I'm a textbook example of this. ⠀
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"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57). ❤️🙌

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