Oh Happy Day!

It's been so long my dear readers. Oh I do apologize. But speaking of "I do's", I am married and absolutely adore sharing my life with my new husband. I am blessed to say the least.

In the last two months, as I have taken a break from the blog I realized I was not missing writing, nor was my heart aching to put words out for others to read. J and I joined a bible study that we absolutely love and my thinking, pondering, God-loving heart has a restored fire within... Why is this important? It led me right back here to you.

Today marks a very special day in this world. Today my dear Popsicle celebrates his 59th year of life. What a true blessing it is to have him here with us, not only here, but alive, joyful, and so stinking funny. To think just two years ago a doctor predicted we would be celebrating his 57th and final birthday... Amen for God's glorious plan to keep him here with us!

As we have been working through Genesis at church, this last week's message was nothing new to me. Pastor Steve spoke of our refinement of our hearts and our faith through suffering. Growing up in church, I've heard it all before; but this week something different came of it. For the last three years I have watched my Popsicle suffer, physically, mentally, emotionally... I have watched his confident business man self shatter amongst the hard rocks of a disease not well known. His suffering, though heartbreaking, never held a lesson for me, until Wednesday night when we met with our small group for bible study.

My father's brokenness and his resulting humility has revealed a Christian man more devoted to his family and, more importantly, to his God greater than I've ever known. But his brokenness pales in comparison to the way Christ was shattered relationally and physically on His way to the cross. In watching the way my father has relearned to live, and is currently fighting to communicate, I realize Christ lost far beyond the suffering I witness day to day.

Christ experienced the deepest of brokenness, all the while knowing what faced him. My Popsicle had no clue a disease was ravaging his body and mind, and had he, I don't know that he would have faithfully allowed such a devastation happen. Yet Jesus grabbed his fate by the horns and lived the most God-pleasing, honorable life possible.

What a great day it is to share with my Popsicle! I am so grateful to God to know He has blessed us with another year with a wondrous man of Him, especially because I know full well, Popsicle's work here is not yet done.

What Do I Have to Offer You?

It's been such a stretch since the last time that I've written... Thank you for the sweet words throughout my silence. I am finally feeling better (who knew that a medicine I've been taking for a long time could make me so sick... Came off it and I'm all good!) and now I'm trying to get back into the routine of things.

My love for social media has sort of faded. I have been so busy with the people that are right here and so tangible that the online community began to fall to the wayside. I have definitely fallen off my blogging horse. Partly because I've moved home in preparation for the wedding (holy smokes only six more weeks!) and it's been busy, busy, busy, but mostly because I've been struggling with thoughts that I don't have anything to offer to you, my faithful readers.

I want to have something special, something sweet, something encouraging and enlightening to share... But I don't feel like it's within me. What's my deal? ...I would yell at myself to "GET OVER IT", but then I realize I'd look like a mad woman and I'm already running around like a hen missing her beloved rooster. (Not so much into the head cut off deal...)

Lately I've been working on being fulfilled by my God instead of by... well, everything else. It's not easy and I get so frustrated because I catch myself thinking "If I had (fill in totally materialistic object here) I would be better" and playing the "what if" game. Ugh, my God is giving me what I need, which is not always what I want, but hey, that's life.

What if I was as skinny as I wanted to be? Well, then I'd kiss goodbye to the occasional cupcake, budlight lime, popcorn, ice cream for dessert... I'd have to part with the little things that make each day special. (I don't eat all of that in a single day... Although now that you've put the idea in my head it sounds tasty...)

What if I had a bunch of close girl friends to be around for all the big memories coming up? Well, then my Mama Bird wouldn't be nearly as precious, as wonderful, as sweet to my soul... Why? Beacuse she wouldn't be the best friend I've ever had. She'd just be Mama Bird... and she's so much more than just a mom, I wouldn't give that up for the world.

So many "What if" questions... But so much more certainties that I know and love. Are you in the "what if" zone too? Give it up... We can do it together!

I'm coming back. I won't be posting as regularly as previously, but I'm going to do this! I'm going to be trying some new things... Cooking, sharing my life and thoughts and such, so please stick with me, I promise to make it worth your while. And please share what you love and what you could do without... I want this blog to be meaningful to you too.

P.S. I'm cooking again... And I have some BOMB recipes on deck to share with all of you!

No answers yet... But more tests!

I finally heard from the doctors today after my

battery of blood tests and my stool test and my ultrasound...



(via)

(isn't this a sneaky ad campaign for United Colors of Benetton?)

My blood came back normal.

My allergies came back clear.

The bacteria they were afraid of is not present.

But there are nodules on my thyroid.

Yep, they are nervous about what the little lumps in my neck mean.

So, I'm preparing for a radioactive uptake scan.

They'll inject me with radioactive fluid, then watch.

I may have to write a post about all the bizarre tests I have had run on me.

It's sort of a comedic tragedy in fact.

I have run a couple of times this week.

Thank my very good God for that chance... My poor legs are restless!

But I'm not all here still.

And even with the changes in my diet I'm just not right in my tummy.

Now my sleeping is starting to get weird too.

I'm moved (sort of)... You know how that goes right?

It's a disaster before anything resembles any sort of organization...

My disaster looks like a nuclear bomb has exploded.

I'm begging J to move closer to me as soon as possible.

He says July. Oh cross your little fingers for me please!

He leaves for Germany tomorrow.
That may mean I'll be a little better at communicating here in hopes he'll read it!

Why Gluten-Free is the Life for Me?

[via]

How could something so beautiful be so hurtful?

Looking at that field makes my heart fill with awe. 

In 2008, USAToday published an article about

the rising popularity of gluten-free diets. 

I am thankful that now, three years later, I am finding that a life

free of gluten is the right life for me. 

About five years ago I contracted H. Pylori, a bacteria that

infects that lining of the stomach which can lead to ulcers and cancer. 

After severe chest pains and a battery of tests I was put on two weeks

of harsh prescription drugs to upset the lives of the bacteria within me. 

My dietary trouble has continued to grow and wane since then. 

Originally we thought it a lactose intolerance. 

I would stop milk for a while, but cheese couldn't keep from alluring me. 

Then, about a month ago the sensitivity to food exploded. 

It didn't matter what I was eating, I was bloating, nauseous, uncomfortable. 

My mom grabbed a Fitness magazine in Target and 

flipped to a random article on intestinal issues. 

Celiac disease, or gluten intolerance, was covered. 

Although I am currently undergoing blood tests and meeting with doctors, 

I have decided that gluten-free is the life for me. 

Today marks day 8 that I have ingested no gluten and I'm so happy to report

that I feel clean inside, not bloated as seriously, and overall much more comfortable. 

In researching the use of gluten I am a little bit horrified. 

Wheat is used as a thickener, as a preservative, and as an additive to many meats.

Vigilance in reading food labels and understanding the ingredients is key. 

Do you know what you're putting in your body? 

Tomorrow I will post on one of my favorite gluten-free meals and

how to keep your gluten-free self while enjoying going out to eat!

P.S. Leave any questions you have and I will put together a Q&A post! 

Missing In Action... or Appetite... or an Apology to You From Me.

Wow, I've been gone for far too long... A post on here is much overdue, 

I apologize for my little out-of-the-blue sabbatical 

but those tummy issues I wrote about two weeks ago 

are still wreaking their havoc inside my intestines and it's taken it's toll 

on my energy and creativity. 

With all of the problems of the last few weeks this Simply Sweet space of mine 

has a couple major shifts in focus and food! 

1. All recipes are going gluten free!

Bye, bye to wheat, rye, and barley... Hello to a more wholesome diet. 

I'm still learning, but I want to share some of the gluten knowledge I'm obtaining! 

2. Organic is the new black.

I will share some of the ways I'm shopping organic to try and keep inside me all clean. 

3. More healthy food posts to come. 

All of the healthy food posts I wrote earlier this year were some of my favorite.

These will be coming in a greater dose now... 

4. My little journey is going to be shared with you too! 

Although we don't know what's going on, I know there's something for

everyone to learn from it... So I want to share! 

The story starts tomorrow. Please come back and share! 

Sharing is Caring

I'm at one of those points in my life when I get it. (It's temporary I promise.) God has been working really diligently to make me understand what it means to share. He has revealed to me that sharing truly is about showing others how much you love and care about them.

Recent events in my life have shown me a little piece of God's great heart... And how He longs for me to act it out. 

In Luke 6:38 God says, 

"Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressured down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with measure you use, it will be measured to you." 

Being the fond of cooking gal that I am, this relates so well to me... The more cookies you make, the more you have to share, the more people have the opportunity to enjoy your talent. 

Listening to a trusted, close friend hate on one of my most celebrated efforts truly broke my heart. I was crushed to have someone I love make it obvious she was disinterested in sharing in my accomplishment. I left the conversation frustrated and hurt... But I knew full well God had a hand in this. I reexamined my goals, I rediscovered my passion and started a new project of my very own that went on to win a couple awards. As I thought (many times over and over) on the painful conversation, I first realized the importance of sharing. 

We are taught at a young age that "sharing is caring". With such a trite little phrase, it's easy to take the true implications of sharing for granted. 

In Acts 20:35 Luke writes,

"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" 

It is the heart of God for us to share in everything we do. Why does it seem competition, getting ahead, and being the best beat out growing, experiencing, sharing together? 

As you grow in your blogging, pay it forward and help someone just starting out... They're blessed to have your help and advice. As you grow in your relationship or marriage, pay it forward and share in your ups and downs with younger relationships... They'll be blessed to have your wisdom. 

As you grow and share... You will be blessed.

Who wants to share with you today? 

Who needs you to care enough to share with them? 

P.S. Are you ready for this week's Simply Sweet Ingredient Challenge? 

Get together your hummus for tomorrow's post!

My Dearest Jesus

My Dearest Jesus, 

On this Saturday, sandwiched between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I write to thank you.

Thank you for taking on the burden of the cross. 

Thank you for entering into a physically and relationally painful state to save me, an unworthy soul. 

Thank you for holding me in the palm of your hand through all of my mis-steps and sin. 

On this Saturday, sandwiched between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I write to thank you. 

Thank you for your great love for me, a love unmatched by any other.

Thank you for making Sunday a day of great glory with your resurrection. 

Thank you for all of the difficulties you endured to ensure eternal life for me. 

On this Saturday, sandwiched between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I write to thank you. 

Thank you for taking on the wrath of your Almighty Father, unlike any other would. 

Thank you for your power that is matched by your amazing grace and mercy. 

Thank you for loving me as your own, for creating me perfectly for your plan. 

On this Saturday, sandwiched between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I write to thank you. 

I write with a heart overflowing with awe in considering the horrid crime you endured. 

I write with a heart breaking for the hate put upon you by your friends and enemies alike.

I write with a heart overwhelmed by your love despite my obvious sins. 

Thank you, not only for enduring the crucifixion, but equally as important, for the resurrection. 

Thank you for choosing to give me much more than my unworthy self ever deserves.

Thank you for expecting my best, but embracing and forgiving me at my worst.

My dear Jesus, thank you.

Me as a Soaked, Seeping Sponge

[via]

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, 

but for him who died for them and was raised again." 

-2 Corinthians 5:15

At church on Sunday the pastor gave an amazing message about the radical love of Christ and the way we, as His children, are called, asked to love as He did, radically. He went on to illustrate the way the character of a Christian is revealed through the toughest of tribulations we face. 

He said, "When life gets tight and we are squeezed, what comes out of us?" 

Being a kitchen loving gal, I could only think of my pretty pink sponges. When I'm done cleaning the kitchen and the sponge is water logged, I am sure to squeeze out the excess water so it doesn't get stinky. Sometimes, I'm surprised at the color of the liquid that spews from it's pores. For example, today I roasted beets. That magenta color they are known for leaked out onto my counter, so I wiped it up thinking nothing of it. After dinner, I squeezed hot pink water from my pink sponge, a pleasant surprise. But sometimes, nasty brown water comes out. And I want to puke knowing that dirtiness came from my seemingly clean counters. 

I found myself wondering, when life squeezes me out to make sure I don't get stinky inside, does something pretty and pink come from inside me as a result of my loving self, or does brown nastiness spew out grossing out others (and myself)? 

With the grace of God, I am working towards the pretty pink liquid, spewing out love and grace, mercy and patience, self-control and gratitude when life calls for anything but such lovely things. It's not easy, in fact, I'm sure if you squeezed me tight enough right now something closer to brown would flow from deep within me, but I'm trying and, for me, that works. God doesn't need my pretty and pink, but He asks me to work towards it in order to glorify the great works He is baking within my little soul. 

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "yes" in Christ. 

And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God."

-2 Corinthians 1:20

What would be squeezed out of your sweet spongey self? 

Is it pretty and pink? Or stinky and dirty like me?

Why We Waited

True love waits. 

I remember seeing this three word phrase on bracelets and rings that many of my friends -male and female- throughout high school. But I never quite got it. True love waits? I feel it would be better said, "Wait for True Love". For love given to you and your spouse by Him. Not for love you deem is true.

What in the world am I talking about? (I know, vague, but you're interested!)

J and I have waited. We have remained pure and will do so for just 205 more days. Although most people just respond with NO WAY?!? Their second question is "Why wait?" While there are a variety of reasons and justifications, J and I have been very honest with one another and very diligent in our efforts to save ourselves for one another.

I grew up in a Christian home. I attended purity conferences in middle and high school, but I always left feeling guilty. I left thinking God would be mad at me for the litany of crushes I had, for the boys already kissed, for the dates I longed so desperately for in a school girl way. I beat myself up for forgetting that there was something better, greater, far exceeding the ridiculous high school boys. But, I remained pure.

I've said empty "I love you"s to too many. I've longed for more sweet dates than I can name. I've kissed more boys than I'd ever want to admit. But, J, he is the only man that will be my first. He is the only man that I will share all of my being with. For all the regrets I can name, I have one success that easily outshines them.

J didn't date much. In fact, he had one girlfriend before me. He didn't kiss many. He didn't grow up in a religious household. Actually, his "V Card" (as he called it the first time he nervously admitted he wasn't exactly the frat boy I originally thought) was still in tact for reasons he wasn't exactly sure of when we started dating. But after talking about my values and months of going to church together, J said he got it. He had always wanted to save himself for his wife, but he didn't know exactly why that was important to him.

God had protected him in not giving him many girlfriends, even when he wanted them. God kept his purity safe and sacred for me many years before J and I could have comprehended meeting one another.

We have waited the last 763 days because we want to be sure this extra-super-special gift we have is shared with the person God made us to complete. It hasn't been easy (have you seen how good-looking J is?!?) but we have done it with much determination and honesty with one another. Now the 205 days left seems like a mild homestretch. And God will bless us for our diligence and patience.

Song of the Day: 

Revolutionary Love 

By: David Crowder Band

It's 3:37 am.

Being awake in the middle of the night all alone is a weird feeling. It's one of those times when I truly can't wait to be married and have someone else breathing steadily beside me to remind me of what it means to sleep soundly and restfully. However, I am wide awake for no good reason, especially considering the busy day I have ahead of me tomorrow. Oh my, hopefully I'll be able to sleep a little bit on the drive from here to the Welcome Home party we are going to about an hour away from my house...

And I'm thinking Starbucks is going to be an absolute necessity before church tomorrow. Ooooph.

But in this restlessness, I think of God. I think of his constant vigilance. Jesus spent time alone in turmoil like in the garden of Gethsemane before he spent his final moments on the cross. There is something about late night wakefullness that leads me to think of Him. In moments of little sleep, when I wish for someone to be friends with me in my midnight loneliness I think of what God says to us in Ephesians 6:14-16:

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." 

This late at night, in my wishing for companionship to end my loneliness I realize the devil can so easily be at work in my heart. With no one to take my mind off worries -about getting a job, being the best wife I can- with no one to chat with and say, "Gosh I'm really not sleeping because my mind won't yet shut off" (Boy, do I wish I had a switch that I could turn to sleep mode!), I seem to just sit and wonder. Question my heart, my intentions, my worries... And late at night, the devil does his best work. But He will endure. With the clothing on that holds me strong, with the tools that He has made for me I will make it to dawn, to church, to the party.

And on a lighter note, it should help me to sleep REALLY well tomorrow night!

Song of the day: I Want to Know You More
By: Sonicflood

"In a secret, in a quiet place"... Midnight, all alone qualifies. And here I am, getting to know Him more!

Step One to Getting Married: Check Your Ego at the Door

For some reason I thought my lessons in being a wife were going to begin after Jason and I got married. Nope, maybe my blog was appropriately named, because I'm learning them now and the wedding is still seven months (and one day!) away! Well, I'm learning lots, fast, but not easily!

I have really struggled finding a job that keeps me close to Jason and doesn't overload me with ridiculous hours. Lately this has really weighed on me because I want to be an independent, self-sufficient woman. I didn't go to college just to learn and then do nothing so I must get a good paying job to make my degree worth it.

But today, while I was running of course, God enlightened me. I cannot do this alone. In fact, God has put Jason in my life for me to lean on. For me to learn to trust and depend on. Jason wants to help me stay close. He wants to be sure I'm here with him and not away working hard, but missing his sweet self. He wants us to enjoy our engagement together not apart. In order to make this happen, I must work on dependence. 


The world has taught me to be strong, to be independent, to be sufficient for myself without the help from anyone else -specifically a man; but that's not what God asked of me in becoming a wife. In fact, He asked of me just the opposite in Genesis 2:24:

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." 

He didn't put a little footnote at the bottom of the scripture that says, "Oh except Amber, she can just keep her superego self intact and take care of herself when her sweet Jason wants to be the one for her." Nope, even I, the great Amber (ok, so I'm not so great, but I like to give myself more credit than I deserve quite often), must throw off the expectations and pressures of the world and step into the His presence in order to allow Him to grow me into a stronger wife.

God writes about two becoming one (sounds like a bad Spice Girls song!) again in Mark 10:8:

"And the two shall become one flesh: so that they are no more two, but one flesh." 

In being one flesh, Jason and I must work as a unified, solid unit. My big headedness is only going to make this working together so difficult. So, here is my admission: I'm not always right. I need Jason just as much, if not more, than he needs me. God is the only way that I'm going to be the wife that Jason deserves, and even then, I'm going to fall short.

Song of the Day: Humble Me
By: Norah Jones

"You humble me Lord. I am on my knees empty."

Just a prayer from a simple girl learning to be a sweet wife:

Oh, my dear Lord, please help me check my ego at the door so I can skip so freely down the aisle to the lovely altar where the man you have made for me stands waiting to promise you to love me for all time.