I am so discouraged right now....church, state and fed government, public education and on and on. Your substack helps cheer me up and also helps me not feel alone. Other things that help: walking all the beautiful trails in our town and in our county parks, focusing on local and small, cooking.....
I loved reading this after a very hard week. I have let the news creep back in and it is not healthy for me. I love your suggestions for food. Cooking and baking are my counterpoints these days. Church is hard. After listening to the Bishop on Inauguration Day, I would like to find an Episcopal Church. Thanks for all your words that help my heart.
Hello! I’m new to your Substack but have followed you since FPF days and have been influenced by your “voice”. I, sadly, also left my church of 20 years 4 years ago. We raised our kids there and invested ourselves as elder and teacher and loyal congregants. The depths of leadership deceit and the church’s unspoken policy of “stability over truth” became too much. We lost our closest friends in the process. It is truly devastating and we have struggled to find a new church home. Our cynicism and fear of leader corruption is a huge hurdle. I am sorry you are experiencing the pain of this reality and I agree that it just keeps spiraling deeper and is much more widespread than we realize. I wish we could join your small group and call it church!!
Thank you for your honesty and letting us ask about all the things. Love your writing! ❤️
You are still in the 'hard years'. I left a cult church in 2007...it closed actually and the pastor went to jail. I well remember those years of reformatting everything from faith to friends, and learning to navigate new Christian circles. Prayers.
Church trauma is no joke. In spite of lots of work and healing over the past 7+ years, I just made the courageous decision to find a trauma counselor to get what I hope is the final "root".
I'm definitely going to look at some of your recipes and will look forward to seeing what you're reading!
And... I keep looking for and clinging to counterweights..... So thanks for that.
Todd also does not like soup, and I 100% respect his right to be a weirdo as long as he understands he must forage for his own meals October through April. (I also want to debrief re: trauma but that is a conversation for a future coffee date/weekend.)
Thank you for the lemon chicken soup recipe! I tried a crockpot lemon chicken recipe that was a dismal failure, and I've been craving a good lemon chicken soup ever since. How many times can I saw lemon chicken in one comment? ;) Anyway, thank you for ALL you share with us.
“assorted chaos of 2025” is the description I needed for January, and I expect it will be the year’s legacy. Thanks? 🤪 (truly, though, your hope and counterweights lessons are healing)
The thing is, I can totally picture Jesus turning up to your Holy Alliance and feeling right at home. While there are some services where I can imagine him looking round and thinking it is pretty strange what some of his followers are getting up to right now…
I've been around since Flowerpatch Farm Girl. We've grown and wrestled together, although we've never met. Thank you for your words, humor, resilience, food, family, and companionship on the journey. This week has me reeling, and I had flu on top of it.
It's impressive that the work release administration is on top of things to identify churches that may be unsafe for its vulnerable members. It's more than many many churches do for its members - which is why I no longer attend church. Count me in as one of the many folks who are in a similar situation as you!
Kate, hear this. Silas had a carry-in lunch at school last year (hahahaaa! yay for Mennonite school?!) I had nothing on hand except a cucumber. I made this. He took it. Two adults reached out requesting the recipe. :)
After leaving the Zuckerverse of Instagram, I have been waiting for your Friday substack. Such a bright spot in an otherwise dismal week.
Ah, good for you! I'm still taking it day-by-day but the future feels bleak on socials. So grateful we have this space.
I am so discouraged right now....church, state and fed government, public education and on and on. Your substack helps cheer me up and also helps me not feel alone. Other things that help: walking all the beautiful trails in our town and in our county parks, focusing on local and small, cooking.....
I'm 100% with you, Marilyn.
I loved reading this after a very hard week. I have let the news creep back in and it is not healthy for me. I love your suggestions for food. Cooking and baking are my counterpoints these days. Church is hard. After listening to the Bishop on Inauguration Day, I would like to find an Episcopal Church. Thanks for all your words that help my heart.
Bishop Budde was such a needed bright spot!
Hello! I’m new to your Substack but have followed you since FPF days and have been influenced by your “voice”. I, sadly, also left my church of 20 years 4 years ago. We raised our kids there and invested ourselves as elder and teacher and loyal congregants. The depths of leadership deceit and the church’s unspoken policy of “stability over truth” became too much. We lost our closest friends in the process. It is truly devastating and we have struggled to find a new church home. Our cynicism and fear of leader corruption is a huge hurdle. I am sorry you are experiencing the pain of this reality and I agree that it just keeps spiraling deeper and is much more widespread than we realize. I wish we could join your small group and call it church!!
Thank you for your honesty and letting us ask about all the things. Love your writing! ❤️
Thank you for sharing, Beth. It helps me feel less alone, too.
You are still in the 'hard years'. I left a cult church in 2007...it closed actually and the pastor went to jail. I well remember those years of reformatting everything from faith to friends, and learning to navigate new Christian circles. Prayers.
Church trauma is no joke. In spite of lots of work and healing over the past 7+ years, I just made the courageous decision to find a trauma counselor to get what I hope is the final "root".
I'm definitely going to look at some of your recipes and will look forward to seeing what you're reading!
And... I keep looking for and clinging to counterweights..... So thanks for that.
Todd also does not like soup, and I 100% respect his right to be a weirdo as long as he understands he must forage for his own meals October through April. (I also want to debrief re: trauma but that is a conversation for a future coffee date/weekend.)
I don't understand the soup adverse!
Miss you.
Thank you for the lemon chicken soup recipe! I tried a crockpot lemon chicken recipe that was a dismal failure, and I've been craving a good lemon chicken soup ever since. How many times can I saw lemon chicken in one comment? ;) Anyway, thank you for ALL you share with us.
My kitchen boss was skeptical and then everyone loved it, haha. The lemon is beautiful!
I ordered the groceries and am cooking it Thursday!
also, my husband doesn't like soup either. Or rather, he doesn't think it's a whole meal...but I keep cooking it and he keeps eating it.
“assorted chaos of 2025” is the description I needed for January, and I expect it will be the year’s legacy. Thanks? 🤪 (truly, though, your hope and counterweights lessons are healing)
The thing is, I can totally picture Jesus turning up to your Holy Alliance and feeling right at home. While there are some services where I can imagine him looking round and thinking it is pretty strange what some of his followers are getting up to right now…
Oh, I totally agree! Wish you could all visit.
I've been around since Flowerpatch Farm Girl. We've grown and wrestled together, although we've never met. Thank you for your words, humor, resilience, food, family, and companionship on the journey. This week has me reeling, and I had flu on top of it.
Thank you for sticking around, Julie. Feel better!
Love you buckets, FPFG 💕🫶🏼😚. Your heart, and all the ways you share it, are some of my favorite counterweights! ⚖️ 🤗🧡
We're old friends, aren't we?!!
“The questions it leaves form concentric circles that spiral back, back, back. Given enough time, it can make you question everything.”
This is such a hard thing to articulate to others who haven’t experienced it themselves. Thanks for putting it into words.
Taco bowls and shawarma are staples around here too! We love the Mi Arroz, which we discovered through your rec years ago.
It's impressive that the work release administration is on top of things to identify churches that may be unsafe for its vulnerable members. It's more than many many churches do for its members - which is why I no longer attend church. Count me in as one of the many folks who are in a similar situation as you!
We agree. That's *how bad* it is over there. (sob)
Thanks for sharing all the recipes. Shalom dear, Shannan. See you next week! 💕
Shalom, Kim!
not a cook, but I think I will try making some quick pickled cucumbers! yum. I wish I had been here back in the flower Patch Farm Girl days!
Kate, hear this. Silas had a carry-in lunch at school last year (hahahaaa! yay for Mennonite school?!) I had nothing on hand except a cucumber. I made this. He took it. Two adults reached out requesting the recipe. :)