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My {Big} Sister, the Rock Star

There’s a whole lot of love in our family. 

In case you were unclear on that.  Which, if you know my family even a wee smidge, you couldn’t possibly be. 

We’re pretty lovey and smoochie-ish.  Even our hubbies are veritable cream-puffs on the inside.

Every time we get together, it’s like the mutual admiration society having a tea party.  Because there’s usually a large quantity of tea involved.  And we really do like each other.  And I mean, really, really like!

You also probably know there’s a ridiculous amount of talent bound up in the persons of my sisters.  They’re just crazy cool and wildly talented young women.

I smile widely when I think about the fact that they’re all MY sisters.  And I laugh wickedly at the thought that there’s absolutely nothing they can do about it. 

We’re deliciously stuck together, us four.

My parents are undeniably rock stars too, though, so I understand if there’s a little bit of family envy going on…I do, in fact, have it made.  Really, I do.

Reason# 4982 that He loves my little socks off: He gave me to them, and them to me…and then He gave me him…and then them.

Whoa mama. 

It almost seems to say I’m ‘blessed’ would be a radical understatement.

Outlandishly.  Extravagantly.  Exquisitely.

Much mo’ bettah!

Moving right along, I wanted to share some of the little, Pinterest-inspired dishes my big sister prepared for her daughter’s 4th birthday this past weekend. 

Zuri Party Food

Last year, it was a robot party, as my niece was – and still is – utterly obsessed with robots.  This year, to our complete surprise, she requested a “fruits & veggies” party. 

Shocking, and yet sweet, isn’t it?

I must confess, I was über curious to see how my sister would pull this theme off – as I’m sure many were.  Part of the motivation to attend her epic events – for friends and family alike – I’m sure of it, is simply to observe the masterpieces she painstakingly creates, purely for the joy of it.

I’m telling you, she’s a freaking rock star!

lady bugs (1 of 1)

There were tomato, chive & olive ladybugs….a red pepper octopus in roasted red pepper hummus…

octopus (1 of 1)

The incredible “dirt cake” which boasted an incredibly rich chocolate buttercream frosting, and the most delightful little fruits and veggies, hand modeled out of soft candies, icing and M&Ms.

Dirt Cake (1 of 1)

This just blows my mind. 

I mean, really…isn’t it just the most creatively fabulous cake you’ve ever seen {made by a non-professional, experimental stay-at-home momma}?

Frog fruit (1 of 1)

And then there’s the tree frog.  Can you see it?  This photo really doesn’t do it justice, but right there…crafted from an apple, 2 grapes and a few sliced carrots, sits a little tree frog in the fruit bowl {ooooh…aaaah!}.

Holy mother of pearl, she’s good.

We – being the supportive, encouraging, pressure-applying little sisters – have finally convinced her she needs to get on the ball and get her goods on Etsy.  So I’ll keep you posted…because you’re going to want to get a piece of this woman.  There is little she cannot create, mold, paint or sew, and when she does…it takes your breath away.

Because she is, after all, a rock star.

Related posts:

  1. 3/4 of the {Sister} Crew
  2. Meatball Mania {Lady and the Tramp Style}
  3. She Needs A Sister
  4. Prayer Request for my {baby} Sister
«
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Family, Food

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Simply Bloom exists to empower women to embrace their stories, live out their passion with purpose, and leave a legacy of love.
 photo Joy.jpg

Hello there! I'm Joy. Speaker, designer, author & coach, and creator of the #weROARproject. Welcome to Simply Bloom Co., where passion & purpose collide.

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May you remember that God is not only the God of d May you remember that God is not only
the God of destinations, but of detours.

When life takes you somewhere you never intended to go,
may you recognize that you have not been forgotten.

May you have eyes to see the people in front of you,
hands willing to gather the sticks,
courage to shake off the snakes,
a heart willing to welcome and be welcomed,
and faith to believe that even here,
especially here, God is at work.
What if the place you keep calling a detour is act What if the place you keep calling a detour is actually part of the story?

Paul was headed to Rome. Instead, he ended up shipwrecked on Malta.
It wasn't the destination. But it mattered.

A reminder for all of us: don't waste the waiting,
the detour, or the place you didn't choose.

🎙️ 042 | Make Malta Matter | Finding Purpose in Divine Detours
  The latest Oh, Good Grief Podcast episode is out now.

#OhGoodGriefPodcast #MakeMaltaMatter #SimplyBloomCo
Instagram post 17924817765424628 Instagram post 17924817765424628
What if the years you thought were wasted… weren't What if the years you thought were wasted…
weren't wasted at all?

In Part 2 of my conversation with Leah Harvey,
we go deeper into what it means to trust
God when the outcome is still unknown.

Leah has spent years carrying the ache of infertility,
and she doesn't offer a tidy answer or a spiritual shortcut.

Instead, she talks about restoration.
About eternity.
About choosing Jesus over her preference.
About looking for treasure in the middle of the story.

And about the surprising realization that there
may not have been wasted years after all,
because God was present in every one of them.

He is.
Even here.
Even now.

🎧 Part Two with Leah Harvey is live now.

#OhGoodGriefPodcast #StruggleWell #StayRooted #SojournTogether
Instagram post 18091972097640684 Instagram post 18091972097640684
What if trusting that God is good doesn't mean bel What if trusting that God is good doesn't mean
believing He will give us everything we ask for?

That's one of the questions my friend Leah Harvey
and I wrestle with in this week's episode.

Leah and her hubby, Jake, have walked through years
of infertility and the kind of unanswered prayer that
doesn't just hurt once—it asks you to keep
trusting God over and over again.

We talk about grief, surrender, the questions we sometimes feel afraid to ask, and what happens when we stop trying to put tidy answers over messy pain.

This is a tender conversation about choosing Jesus over our preferences, embracing the mystery of God, and learning to believe that His goodness doesn't depend on whether He gives us the thing we're asking for.

Part One of my conversation with Leah Harvey is live now
🎧  040 | The Goodness of God in the Waiting

#OhGoodGriefPodcast #StruggleWell #StayRooted #SojournTogether
Before the world told you who you needed to become Before the world told you who you needed to become...
Before fear taught you how to survive...
Before shame convinced you to hide...
God looked at you and called you His own.

Not because you had healed.
Not because you had figured yourself out.
Not because you had become your best self.
Simply because you were His.

You are still becoming.
And you are already loved.

Keep coming home.

#OhGoodGriefPodcast #SimplyBloomCo
What if the goal isn't to become a different type, What if the goal isn't to become a different type,
but to become more fully yourself?

We've spent the last several weeks exploring the Enneagram:
our gifts, wounds, coping strategies, and the stories we
learned to believe in order to survive.

Now it's time to come home.

Episode 039 closes this Summer Series by asking
what happens when self-awareness becomes surrender.

The Enneagram can help us understand our patterns.
But it was never meant to become our identity.

You are not your number.
You are not your trauma.
You are not your coping strategy.

You are a beloved child of God.

🎧 Oh, Good Grief — Episode 039 is available now.
Sitting on the front porch with a cup of coffee, m Sitting on the front porch with a cup of coffee, my Bible and a book of maps in my lap, and the sun on my face, has me thinking about how strange and beautiful life can be.

It’s no small honor to be given the opportunity to preach at our church from time to time. Had you told the broken, shoplifting, lying, giving-her-body-away-for-free teenage girl I once was that one day she’d stand in a pulpit and talk to people about God’s goodness and grace, I would have laughed at you.

But maybe that’s exactly why God delights in using the messy, the unlikely, the misfits. Because these are the stories that make His redemption impossible to miss.

One of my favorite lines from The Chosen, spoken by Mary Magdalene, sums it up perfectly: “I was one way, and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him.”

That’s my story, too.
And if I were to hazard a guess, it's yours as well.

It’s one of my greatest joys to dig into God’s Word, share what He’s laid on my heart, offer some encouragement and conviction, confess the uncomfortable things, and ultimately point people back to Jesus.

Because there’s no denying the extraordinary power of redemption when you’ve lived it yourself.
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