Susan, Author at The Sparrow's Home

10 Sunny Summer Songs

July 31, 2017 by Susan 4 Comments

Music has the powerful ability to move us from the inside out. It begins as a stirring in our heart, then the shoulders begin a little side to side. Before you know it, your head is rocking and maybe a little toe tapping has begun. Other times, that stirring leads to tears streaming down our face; or maybe a deep, relaxing sigh. The thing is, music causes a reaction.

And just like we often eat seasonally, music can come to us in seasons as well. Today we’re looking at songs that just scream, “Summer!” Songs that make you feel like you’re standing in the sunshine or relaxing in your hammock. These are songs to play at the pool or beach or driving with the windows down.

Food for Thought #26

July 27, 2017 by Susan Leave a Comment

Between camps and conferences and letting the weeds grow in my garden, I haven’t had tons of extra reading time. I’ve bookmarked these articles over the past few weeks. I hope you find something that jumps out at you.

Summer Recipes Worth Waiting All Year For

July 25, 2017 by Susan Leave a Comment

A collection of favorite summer recipes. Words like fresh, grilled, cheesy, smoky, crisp, fruity, & cool come to mind. Find something new to try this summer

Do you eat seasonally? Whether you really try to or not, you probably do more than you even know. We are naturally drawn to warm, hearty meals in the colder months. I know I pretty much never make things like stroganoff or stew or hot, gooey apple desserts until there’s a chill in the air.

But summer….

Summer recipes are for veggies and grilling. Think… fresh.

Summer is for Serving

July 24, 2017 by Susan Leave a Comment

Summers are the greatest, aren’t they?

It’s all relaxing and eating bon-bons and sipping iced tea. …Yeah, not around here either. But that doesn’t mean that summer’s not fantastic.

Our summers are filled with fun, but they’re also filled with lots of service opportunities. If we’re not heading to a camp, we are hosting a team of people.

Berry Crumble (or Cobbler or Crisp)

July 12, 2017 by Susan 4 Comments

Not quite a crisp. Not quite a cobbler. I’m calling it a berry crumble. It’s Delish! So easy because it can be made with frozen berries.

It’s been causing me some stress to decide whether to call this recipe a cobbler or a crisp. I’m no food historian, and I don’t happen to be up on my precise cobbler vs. crisp definitions. Cobblers have always seemed more ‘cakey’ to me and crisps are more…well, crisp.

That’s where my problem comes in here. The delicious topping for this dessert starts out much like a traditional crisp recipe, but there’s one main difference that makes it almost like a cookie topping.

It’s really delicious. It is crisp. But it’s also kind of chewy. I really love it.

And with that eloquent description, let me tell you how to make it!

What the parental reviews missed in Spiderman: Homecoming

July 10, 2017 by Susan 7 Comments

I don’t consider myself a prude. Not even close. But I do feel like Jeremiah when he wrote that the people –who God was about to punish, by the way– had ‘forgotten how to blush’.

It is really not my intent to become a movie reviewer here. And after writing about my emotional reaction to Wonder Woman recently, I didn’t plan on writing about any other movies anytime soon. Then I went to see Spiderman: Homecoming on Friday.