Susan, Author at The Sparrow's Home

Scripture Printables for When You Are Overwhelmed

May 29, 2017 by Susan 4 Comments

Scripture printables remind you of God’s word when you feel overwhelmed. And they can be the best way to encourage a friend who is struggling.

Do you ever feel helpless when a friend is struggling? You’ve hugged, visited, shared a meal, and encouraged. But you can’t be there every minute.

The ladies class I’m a part of on Wednesday nights has been trying to actively encourage a friend who is in the hospital. One of the things we decided to do was to flood her room with the truths of God’s word. I created these Scripture printables. We each wrote an encouraging note around the edges, to remind her of our love, and hung them all around her room.

Food for Thought #22

May 25, 2017 by Susan 4 Comments

But Susan, you said you were going to change the Food for Thought format. Yes, I did. But I also want to be sensitive to the feedback I receive. I heard from a number of readers who look forward to our Food for Thought posts in this format. I still plan to share notable articles to our Facebook page, so you can look for those as well, but for the time being, we’ll continue to share this way as well.

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Herb and Garlic Skillet Chicken

May 23, 2017 by Susan 3 Comments

Herb & garlic skillet chicken. A quick meal that is rich and savory. We serve ours over rice, but noodles would be yummy too!

Do you remember where you’ve gotten most of your recipes? I remember a lot of them. Isn’t it fun, when you’re making something, to think back to where you got the recipe, or who you got it from?

I got this recipe for herb and garlic skillet chicken decades ago. Back when Barnes & Noble still had lots of big, comfy chairs in them, my husband and I used to go there for cheap, newlywed dates. I’d get a cup of coffee, and we’d sit for hours. Reading, talking about what we were reading. And since it was back before Pinterest, I would copy recipes from the magazines and books I’d read onto scraps of paper in my purse.

So I’m sorry to whoever created this recipe, but I didn’t record my sources….and, it’s been over 20 years.

This Tea is for Ladies: Raspberry Leaf & Peppermint Tea

May 22, 2017 by Susan 4 Comments

Spring means rain. For the past two hours I’ve been watching the sky darken, begin to rumble, and now it’s pouring outside my window. Heavy rain, and dark! Aside from the occasional lightening, that is.

Ladies, we all have stormy times too, don’t we? We may miss some of the signs of the clouds rolling in, but once the rain starts, there’s no denying it. Or am I the only one whose family gets a few days of thunder and lightening every so often? (I kid you not, as soon as I finished typing that, a HUGE crack of thunder pealed…spooky!)

I have written before about how much I love my raspberry leaf during my stormy times. Ever since I’ve started developing an interest in herbal remedies, my family has been my guinea pigs. Since everyone’s body is different, various remedies may be more or less effective. Some things that we’ve tried have not seemed to make a difference at all, some have been life changing.

Raspberry leaf has been life changing for me. Along with this Herbal Salve, it is the thing I share the most with folks.

Roasted Vegetables: The Easiest Impressive Side Dish Ever

May 17, 2017 by Susan 4 Comments

These simple roasted vegetables are an easy and impressive side dish. You can use any veggies you’ve got on hand. And leftovers heat up fantastically!

Coming up with side dishes can be the worst. You want something new and different, but not difficult. Whenever I serve roasted vegetables there are ooos and ahhs. Like I took out the good china, or something. Is it because of the impressive presentation…huge baking sheets filled with colorful veggies?

They are pretty. The fact that it’s so special tells me that I need to do it more often. After all… it’s so easy!

Seriously, I made trays of roasted vegetables last night and my husband had some leftovers for lunch today. He just walked in and said, “Those were so good…like some of the best food you make. Ever. You can make those whenever you want.” He said that about vegetables. Vegetables! (This is from the guy who told me that my vegetable lasagna tasted “too vegetable-y”).

Vitamin B for Brain Health

May 15, 2017 by Susan Leave a Comment

Are you a worrier? I come from a long line of worriers. Although I think all kids have irrational fears at times, I was the kid who didn’t sleep on my side until about 5th grade because I was sure someone would stab me in the back if I did. Yeah, weird, I know.

As we go through life, as ladies, we have different seasons of hormonal changes. (We learn that in middle school health class.) What we aren’t often taught is that those seasons of change can have big effects on our mental health.