Category: November 2021
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#ShopLocal: Flora Bloom Market
“I would for sure want to sit at the Thanksgiving table this year with my dad, Herb. He passed away when I was 21 years old. He never got to meet my husband, Jason, or my two little boys,” says Kelly Flora, owner of Flora Bloom Market. “We would laugh at all the crazy stories…
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Katrin Scott
Melinda* had been asking me for months to cook up something so we could serve it together at the Veterans Coming Home Center, a drop-in day center for the unsheltered in Springfield, Missouri. Since she was the sweetest woman on the planet, it was too hard to tell her no. I agreed and the rest…
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Jessie Smallwood
I give thanks for all you have done, I won’t forget all the battles you have won. The words to this song were counterintuitive in the wake of devastating loss. Yet there I was, singing out over my church family, leading a song of gratitude. And that simple act of obedience became the key to…
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Leaders, Roll Up Your Sleeves
Lead can be a four-letter word, especially when things go wrong. In media and literature, leadership is celebrated for the perks of power, options, and success or mourned because of abuse, avarice, and failure. While positions, the size of teams, or measurable tools can be used to demonstrate leadership, the best leaders come to mind…
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#ShopLocal: Lavish Grazing
Shelby Chante Photography “If I could sit at anyone’s Thanksgiving table this year, it would belong to my aunt Kristal,” says Kendra Hinkle, co-owner of Lavish Grazing. “I love talking pie, coffee, “Gilmore Girls” and life happenings with her. Maybe even discuss some Harry Potter theories. Or the latest quirks of our furbabies: Harry, Chloe…
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Brooke Rathbun
In 2016, I was living a different life. Had you asked me then where I saw myself in five years, my plan would look nothing like the one the Lord was laying out for me. At the time, I let anxiety, fear, and anger rule my life. I was a self-proclaimed atheist, after being raised…
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Three Bracelets
Three bracelets. One copper. One silver. One gold-plated. words + photographs GRACE LEE The copper bracelet was the first one I started wearing, and it says, “Faithful.” I felt like I was doing what He wanted me to, and yet I didn’t matter. That He really didn’t care about me. It seemed as though everywhere…
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#GiveLocal: Family Through Faith Farm
“I hope our food brings joy,” says Andrew McGowan, founder and farmer at Family Through Faith Farm. “I am a foodie. I love what great food can do to someone emotionally.”
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Big Rainbow Tomato: The Giving Food
At the end of October, before the rains came, I loaded up another bunch of ripe Big Rainbow tomatoes, as well as several green, ready-for-frying tomatoes. I walked up the street past the green-leaved redbud trees, marched through the still-green grass, climbed the back deck steps and met my neighbors at the door. I handed…
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Cuban Spirit
Reverent. Real. Resilient. Resourceful. These are just a few of the words I would use to describe the people I met in Cuba. By our standards, life is hard there, but they make it work. They are warm and gracious hosts. They serve with gladness, and they nearly always smile, no matter what is going on…
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#ShopLocal: CO Creations
“I did my first ink drawn couples portrait, which ended up being my best selling commission, in my freshman dorm room,” says Claudia O’Steen, founder of CO Creations. “I was struggling to think of a Christmas present for my boyfriend and decided to draw one of my favorite photos of us. It gave me all…
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#ShopLocal: Bashioum Wood Builds
“I love serving the community as a police officer,” says Matt Bashioum, founder and craftsman at Bashioum Wood Builds in Marshfield, Missouri. “… Police officers who work in this area are very thankful of the support the community shows us on a daily basis. We are very lucky to have such an amazing community to…
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Safely Dispose of Drugs
Last issue, I wrote about taking over responsibility for my dad’s medications. When it was time to dispose of it all, I had no idea what to do. I had read drugs (legal and otherwise) were ending up in our waterways, causing health issues for the entire food chain, including you and me and our…
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#ShopLocal: Nachtigal
“I actually have a few songs I’ve never released because I felt like they were too personal and/or people would misunderstand their meaning,” says Julia Smith of Nachtigal. “They are my time capsule to put those emotions in, but I’m not sure if they would be helpful to other people or not. I struggle with…
Homegrown Journal 