Blogging Blessings of 2012

With the final day of 2012 upon us, reflecting on the past year is not only wonderful, but important. The importance of realizing how far we've come in certain areas of our lives, although not maybe where we'd like to be, we are most certainly improved from where we used to be.

The blessings we've received, no matter how small, remind us how truly important loved ones mean to us. That life is not about the career we have, the car we drive, the house we enjoy, it has always been about the people we love and how we choose to spend our time. I never want to regret not spending enough time with the family I've been blessed with.

Blessings of 2012 in no particular order:

• Although I started this blog October 21, 2011 I really had no idea how it would change my life when I began. One year and 2 months later I am living my passion and doing what I love, creating helping recipes and sharing them with all of you!
• Not only does this blog help me make continue to make healthy recipes for myself and my family, it is truly blessing and helping others. Helping others through my recipes who struggle like I do with sugar issues/allergies is so wonderfully amazing to me! I thank God every day!
• Although our family has been homeschooling for the last 8 years, I left a teaching job I had for 10 years with a very large salary and then tutored students for the last 10 part time. God knows my heart to be home with my kids and desire to help others. He has never failed us and always provides even when things look crazy difficult.

• Although it's been hard to eliminate the tutoring of students I worked with for 10 years to devote the time to building this blog, God is providing for our family. I will share that with the ads on my page and traffic I am now making a very small, but "something is better than nothing" income from it for our family. I believe this will grow with God's help.

• The support and blessing of my loving husband to continue to do what I do even when it means a whole lot of dishes in the sink on a regular basis, driving a beat up old 1997 truck for the sake of saving us a monthly payment and being the guinea pig to many a healthy recipe, couldn't ask for more support or love!

•  It is amazing to me how God has taken my VERY DIFFICULT WEAKNESS with food/sugar addiction and turned it around to glorify Him! This blog and inspiration I get for the recipes is all because I have put Him first and always will. Without His help I can do nothing BUT with Him I can do all things! Giving HOPE to all of you who also struggle is what blesses me!
• Meeting so many other wonderful bloggers along the way this year and those who have actually helped me by encouraging me, giving advice, sharing my recipes, is the candle on the cake, no pun intended. 🙂

Here they are: Jane of Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, Crystal from Money Saving Mom,  Aggie from Aggie's Kitchen, Kelly from EasyLunchBoxes, Jen from Balancing Beauty & Bedlam, Tammy from Skinny Mom's Kitchen, Mel from Cooking with Mel, Adrienne from Whole New Mom, Sharon & Jane from Mom Generations, Gina from Skinnytaste and Natalie from NatalieHodson.com. Thank you wonderful ladies from the bottom of my heart!

• Receiving awesome comments and letters from those who take the time to share how you appreciate all that I share, BLESSES me beyond words!

Here are some I'd like to share with you:

"Thank you sooo very much for starting this site!! I also “stumbled” across your site, but in my heart I know it was God who brought me here!! I’m starting the Made to Crave study by Lysa Terkeust which is about satisfying our deepest desires with God instead of food. So many of us can relate to this very difficult struggle with food. I’m excited to be on this new journey and again, very thankful for the recipes and encouragement you are providing for us all!! May God bless you in this journey!"

"Thank you for sharing your struggles and journey! It helps me to not feel alone in my struggles with cravings and weight loss. I LOVE all of your recipes, especially because they not only avoid refined sugar, but also are low in saturated fat. I cook your recipes regularly. Thank you for helping to keep my family eating healthful meals. Thank you so very, very much!!!"

"I absolutely love your testimony! Your story makes so much sense to me because its evident that the Lord was your greatest help! Ive often wondered if anyone else sees this “sugar” thing as a spiritual issue, for me I know it is. I recently went on a sugar fast to see what the Lord would teach me. I learned that I seek joy in sugar, that it sometimes fills voids and controls my emotions. I learned how wrong and disobedient that is, this in NOT why our father in heaven gave us sugar! I’m now on the same journey of eliminating refined sugars from my diet. I found your blog and looooove it. Thanks for opening up your life to all of us.Thank you for your inspiration, thank you for being real about this issue."

"I understand your struggles and can relate to them b/c I deal with it everyday. I have totally re-set my way of thinking of food choices. I realize this is not a diet but a lifestyle change. I too am trying to stay away from the bad “white stuff”. Your recipes are amazing and its exciting to see each week what you come up with. I do hope you write a cookbook. I know that I will be the one of the first to buy it!! The lord has definitely given you strength, perseverance and talent!"

And with that I wish YOU all a New Year filled with love, laughter, hope, joy, faith, happiness, desire, passion, strength and peace!

Be Blessed in 2013! The BEST is YET to COME!

Hugs, Brenda