The Fall of Soups

This fall, Tyler and I decided we will try a new soup each week. About every other week since last fall I have made chili soup, a big time favorite of Tyler's. We are finally starting to branch out! :-) This week a friend from church recommended the soup below after I shared how much squash I have and how my husband despises it. I altered the spices and a few of the other ingredients and voila! Guess what?? Tyler took a bite and said, "Wow!" 

Butternut Squash Soup

6 Tbsp chopped onions

4 Tbsp organic butter

1 medium to large, peeled and cubed butternut squash

4 cups vegetable broth

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

4 to 8 oz of organic cream cheese

Saute the onion in butter until tender. Add everything but the cream cheese. Note: If you don't have all these spices make it anyways!Use more of one or try marjoram instead. When the squash is tender add everything to blender or food processor and puree until smooth with cream cheese. I left some of the smaller chunks out of the blender and mixed it with the pureed mix. We liked this consistency best. 

WHOOPIE!!!

Is anyone else as excited as I am for fall?! Here are a few of my favorite things about fall: cool weather runs, cardigans without a coat, warm cups of tea, soup, snuggles, chilly mornings, and PUMPKIN. This year I made my own pumpkin puree for the first time. We have been a part of a community garden and picked up a few pumpkins the other day. It was easier than I expected to make the puree and I got lots of other Saturday tasks done while they were baking. Tyler and I made two AMAZING pumpkin recipes this weekend. Pumpkin Chili from Elise's blog (my husband even liked this folks!) and Pumpkin Whoopie Pies....

Doesn't the picture say enough??? Yummmyyy

The best part? There were many to share. Not to mention, they have no sugar and can be a guilt free treat. Enjoy!

Staples of Life

Lately, taking life back to the basics has been a source of refreshment in life. Salads for supper, jeans and a t-shirt, a walk on the trail....you get the picture. God keeps reminding me of how good He made life to be. I've always been the person that wants to fix just one more thing to make the project complete or to get one more thing done in my day...But you know what? Life goes on when I don't get that one thing done or I don't have that one last ingredient to make my stir fry amazing. There's beauty in contentment. 

Striving, working, persevering, progress....these are all good things but are only glorifying to God when we don't forget to live in the moment and enjoy Him in the midst of it all. For example, a single crunchy apple is more enjoyable when each bite is savored compared to an elaborate meal gobbled down while rushing to the next thing. The conversation with the cashier is much more meaningful when you intentionally engage in conversation rather than a carelessly tossed "how are you" to your closest friend.  

On the practical side of things, I want to share some of the basic staples found in our kitchen. The picture below was a house warming gift we recently gave to a friend. Coconut oil for cooking, almond butter for apples and stir fry sauce, nuts for on the go, salt and pepper for seasoning, Vietnamese cinnamon for anything you can think of (cause its so good), Stevia for natural sweetening, and dark chocolate (cause every girl needs some chocolate) were all included in this box of fun. Add a grocery bag of veggies, some fruits, and a little chicken and you're set! It's simple to get back to the basics by choosing food that is as close to the original form God made it!

This week slow down to enjoy Jesus in the moment...Enjoy what He's teaching you right now instead of constantly looking to the next thing that you're striving for. Take time to enjoy His blessings and thank Him for it. You'll be surprised how much you get done and the joy you'll find in it. 

My Dash

1988 ---- ???

Life update: I'm currently working at Inspired Chiropractic. Our office is a part of a bigger movement called Maximized Living who are working to place God at the head of healthcare again. I love what I get to do. Each day we focus on teaching people more about how God created their body. We talk about what you can do to work with the way God (in His amazing design) and experience health and healing His way.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about what I spend my time doing and how it can be purposeful for kingdom goals. I love the Lord and people and I want my life to show that..... I want that to be what people say Kristin was about.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you've probably often heard or even talked about the kingdom of heaven. I actually learned a few years ago that the kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God are synonymous. Matthew is the only book that uses "kingdom of heaven" and this was due to his audience, who were all most likely Jews. Jews often did not say God's name out of reverence to Him.

Have you ever really thought about what the kingdom of God/heaven is?? It's been something on my heart for the last couple weeks. At first you could claim the kingdom of heaven is exactly that: heaven. I would define heaven as God's complete rule over our lives, when all is perfected by Him and there is no longer any sin, suffering, or schemes of Satan at work. When I think about the kingdom of heaven advancing, I think of God's authority being more and more visible in this earth.

When Jesus came, He spent time proclaiming the kingdom, illustrating the kingdom (through parables), and demonstrating it through His actions. God put you on this earth for a purpose. Are you living in that right now? I'm praying that God may reveal to you how you can redeem more and more of your life and other's lives to the authority of the Holy Spirit, who is in you.

Each day I love getting to serve the Lord through revealing God's authority and powerful work in a person's body. Currently our country (including Christians), often see there body as something that doesn't need to be taken care of. As Christians, we often focus our minds and hearts on growing in the truth of our King. We are called to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. How can we love the Lord fully when the way we treat our body looks the same as the rest of the world? How much strength will we have to give to him when we're seventy if we treat our bodies like the world? God has permeated truth into all areas of our lives and our body is an amazing creation that deserves to be treated as such. It is a temple of the Holy Spirit! The Hebrew word for Holy Spirit is ruach (in Genesis God breathed the breath of life into Adam), which is also the same word for breath and also can mean life. God's plan is not death but life (spiritually and physically). Jesus calls us to redeem creation to God's plan of relationship with him. 

God is good. God alone gives purpose. He doesn't need us but He wants us. God loves you and I!! Remember to take time to reflect on your day and dash. Love you all!

Healing in God's Hands

Tyler and I standing in what used to be a pool. 

The Pool of Bethesda

 John 5:1-10
"Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well."


While in Israel, we visited the pool of Bethesda on the edge of Jerusalem. We first talked about the context. This pool was located next to a pagan temple and was said to have healing powers when the waters were stirred by the Roman god of medicine, Aesculapius.  The waters were actually stirred when stores of water were released from Herod's palace. Due to the belief that you could be healed if you were the first in the water when the water was stirred, many diseased and disabled people stayed day and night around the pool. 


Bethesda means "house of mercy." Jesus came and showed the paralyzed man mercy. He asked him, "Do you want to be well?" Have you ever thought about that question? I have thought about it a lot lately. I want to live in the truth of what God says each day. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10)." Jesus came to make us well, but we have to want it. We have to pick up our mat and walk. We have to act out our Faith by following what Jesus says - this requires personal responsibility. How often have I settled for less than what Jesus wants for me? How often have I followed along with everyone else to seek healing from another god?


Jesus came and left us with the Holy Spirit to give us life to the full - spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally. LIFE TO THE FULL. Live in God's truth, instead of the world's. How does it look different to live in God's truth? The man at the pool told Jesus he wanted to be well but didn't know how. Jesus told him, I will make you well, not Aesculapius, not the god of medicine. We must take responsibility and seek Jesus' truth in ALL areas of our life - spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally. He will make us well, but we have to want it.


I pray that God's gives us all a desire to be well in every area of our life. Much love!