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Anxiety

Voices in the Dark – Useful Words to Combat Nighttime Anxiety
by Jennifer Schmidt
February 28, 2025

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Welcome! I’m Jennifer Taylor Schmidt.

In my journey to better health and well-being, I’ve learned that physical healing is not only about the body. My mind and thoughts have power over my physical health. My restless soul needs steady nourishment from God’s word. Join me as I share real food resources to nourish your body, mind, and soul.

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I love the dreamy days between Christmas and New Y

I love the dreamy days between Christmas and New Year’s Day. For me, they’re creative days without much responsibility. I dream and write and plan. I live more in my head than reality. 😆

My son and I went to one of my favorite hometown coffee shops today to work on the novel we’re writing together. He finished his hot chocolate before they even called my drink. 😆☕️

The boy writes well when fueled by chocolate. ❤️💕

#realfoodrealhealing #fictionwriter #middlegradebooks #aboutme #writer

Much like the experience of nurses, emergency doct

Much like the experience of nurses, emergency doctors, and firefighters, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are work days for a pastor's family. Honestly, they don't really feel like holidays to me. We don't have any family around. "Work" takes priority over gathering and relaxing and making holiday magic.

As a pastor's wife, I try really hard to make small traditions that fit into the moments we have together. Every Christmas Eve, after church, we sit down to a big pot of Sweet Potato Gumbo. There's usually a pumpkin pie or pecan bars or cranberry bread. Then we get in our jammies and watch It's a Wonderful Life until bedtime. In those three hours, I try to capture that holiday feeling we all crave.

Christmas morning feels special, but our festivities have to be cleaned up by 8 am so the pastor can get back to church. It's always rushed. It's a grind. It feels too fast.

Honestly, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are two days when I have to remind myself of the whole point of Christmas. I easily feel cheated out of family time. I want a house full of extended family and holiday treats and savory scents wafting from the kitchen. I want to host a big holiday meal. I want to run out of chairs. But at the end of the day, those things are just that...my wants.

Christmas isn't about what I want. Christmas is an annual reminder of what God wants for me.

God knew that I was separated from him by sin. He wrote his son, Jesus, into my story. Jesus, God himself, took the form of a small baby, for me. He came to earth, for me. He lived a perfect life and then died, for me. He became my sin so that I might become his righteosness.

All of that, God did for me. He did it for you too.

Christmas isn't about what I want...or even what you want. Christmas isn't a magical moment. It's not a picture perfect holiday meal. It's not a warm and cozy family holiday. It can be all those things, but that's not really the point.

Christmas is so much bigger than all of that.

Christmas is a beautiful reminder of what God wants for you.

Merry Christmas Eve, friends!

#realfoodrealhealing #Christmas #pastorswife #pastorswifelife #christianity

I was flipping through photos earlier today, looki

I was flipping through photos earlier today, looking for something to help me tell a story. I found this beauty.

When we were on vacation in Arizona, I asked my husband to catch some candids of me. (I have a lot of him and our son, but there's never any of me.) Without fail, every photo he sent me at the end of our trip is me holding a bag of dog poop. 😆🥴

Apparently that's the only time he remembered to take pictures. 🤪

I can't be alone. Moms? What are you doing in the candids you requested?

#realfoodrealhealing #candidmoments #candidphotos #momphotos #noonetakesapictureofmom #momlaughs #momhumor

I've spent the past several days making very speci

I've spent the past several days making very specific long-term plans for a project I care about. I find that sometimes, when you spend a lot of time and focus studying how to get from point A to point B, you neglect to see the very first step. Like I've figured out a path to cross the creek, but how do I take that first step off the bank?

Does anyone else ever feel that way?

I'm heavy in that feeling right now...but I'm grateful for it. Plans are a blessing. They mean you have hope and vision for the future. There was a time when I had neither. Even if I stumble off the bank, I'm thankful for the path I've made to cross to the other side.

#realfoodrealhealing #hope #goals #dreambig #chronicillnesswarrior #healingjourney

You don’t have to pretend this season hasn’t chang

You don’t have to pretend this season hasn’t changed you. God works…even when you wander through darkness.

#realfoodrealhealing #identityinchrist #healingjourney #christianwomen

Every year, I’m blessed to be able to host the wom

Every year, I’m blessed to be able to host the women of our church for a Christmas party. I enjoy gathering people together.

The entire time my husband served our last church, I was too sick to host. I had dreams of hosting the council or elders and spouses. It never happened. I physically couldn’t do it. I could barely cook to feed my own family. There’s no way I could have done the cleaning and cooking to host a crowd.

So every year that I’ve hosted in our current congregation, I’ve viewed the “work” of hosting as a blessing. Yes, it’s a chaotic time of year. It’s easy to look at this day as just another thing on the calendar…but then I remember. I am whole. I am strong. I am capable. It’s a blessing to serve.

If you’re not in a season to serve and gather others, that’s okay. When you too are whole, strong, and capable, God will present you with opportunities to serve. Say yes, then. Until then, rest and heal and let others serve you.

#realfoodrealhealing #serveothers #christianwomen #pastorswife #churchlife

Do share! #realfoodrealhealing #eatrealfood #part

Do share!

#realfoodrealhealing #eatrealfood #partyfood #christmasparty

Thank you for stopping by.

I hope that you have found inspiration, information, and hope here. May your real food choices (for body, mind, and soul) lead you to better health and wellness.

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