Not long ago, I found myself in a slump where all I was really doing consisted of going to work, coming home to watch TV, and not a whole lot else. I wasn’t particularly investing a lot of time in friendships, engaging in any hobbies, etc. I just kind of felt like a robot going through the motions and I wanted more than that out of life.

Several bible verses and messages helped me through this time but Colossians 3:23 has always been a guide for me, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” While passionate about what I did at work even though it can be extremely difficult (that’s a story for another day and another blog), I wasn’t really that passionate about my life outside of work and what I was doing with my free time. My wife is a therapist and self care is something she always promotes as well as practices but I never took much time to think of what self care meant for me in my own life. I knew it was something important to think about and practice but I figured there would always be more time to worry about self care later when I had more time, etc.

I’ve always loved food and I’ve liked to cook for a while but in the past I always used cooking as a means to satiate my hunger or entertain when guests were visiting. However I started to have an itching to start cooking more, and I ended up realizing how much fun cooking and trying different things in the kitchen could be. In the process, I also realized how cooking was a really effective stress reliever and how it just made me happier overall and even ended up affecting other areas of my life in a good way.

I’ve been a big fan of Jon Acuff for a while now and I am always persistently reminded (but often quickly dismissing) that I should follow my passions. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a perfect plan or you fail along the way as long as you are actively pursuing your dreams. I’ve really taken to heart a lot of his messages in several different areas of my life and think he is a very good Christian leader. And that’s what brings me to this blog…

The more I got into cooking, the more I wanted to share this joy with others. When I talk about cooking with people, I get really excited to share my experiences and learn from theirs as well. I can tell most of those whom share this joy of cooking feel similarly. I realized there was only so much I could share with people through Facebook posts or casual conversations. One day my sister-in-law, Jess, suggested that I start a blog to document all my cooking adventures and it immediately seemed like such a good idea; I could share more about my experiences and not only limit this to my friends. By the way, Jess has her own food blog here!

Inspired by this new idea and constantly encouraged by Jon Acuff to follow my dreams, I decided to go ahead and start this blog. My short term goal is to continue engaging in this passion and explore new areas in the kitchen. I want to write at least one blog entry per week to share my successes, failures, and hopefully to provide some helpful tips. My long term goal is to further this passion by posting about original recipes and maybe eventually write a cook book!

I hope you enjoy my blog! I also wanted to say a special thank you to my wife Katie who has been tremendously supportive through this and all other journeys in life.