The Quiet Place

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have a guest post from Katelyn. She is sharing her heart on this month's theme faithfulness. You can learn more about Katelyn and her blog in her bio at the end of the post.  Recently I was asked, “How can you be so faithful to a book written so long ago? How can you have faith in a world full of hurt?” Well for once I had the perfect answer: It’s not about facts really, it is something that you realize through prayer. You don’t have faith first and then start praying. Just start praying and God will show you how to be faithful. My own faith journey is one I feel is worth sharing. Just like all the stories we read in the bible, Jesus found me in my darkest hour and showed me grace. Right before I got married to my wonderful husband I was in a very dark place personally. I had a god-shaped hole in my heart and I used every earthly indulgence to fill it. The way I was living was incredibly selfish and irresponsible. When I thi

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have our monthly contributor Meg. She is sharing her heart on this month's theme faithfulness. You can learn more about Meg and her blog on the about page.  Faithfulness. Something I think a lot of us think we have, but when it comes down to it, we might be found lacking. Lately, I’ve been studying James, specifically chapter 1, with the idea of wisdom and steadfastness and faithfulness. In verse 5 James tells us “if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. “ But let him ask in faith… Don’t we always ask in faith? Maybe not. I think sometimes we (I totally included) ask things that we think God should answer, but maybe hold on to knowing it probably won’t happen. That’s unfaithfulness. And like the ve

Hope you had a good weekend! Last week was kinda crazy with two snow storms in one week, but now the snow is finally melting which i am so glad for cause i don't like being stuck in the house. Anyway here's a little recap from last week on the blog and some of my favorite links.  FAVORITE LINKS: Check out this girls new blogging design, i can't wait to see where her blog goes next!  Italian Wedding Soup   If you love instagram, you will love this post !  Oreo Cheesecake Chocolate Cake Blog Expectations WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:  Week in Review Giveaway: Travel Themed Pinterest Inspiration Around the Table February: Favorite Soup recipe  (3 more days left to link up!) How was your weekend?

It's February and that means another around the table linkup, I am so excited to see where this linkup goes and the community it creates. This months theme is Favorite soup recipes, one of my favorite soup recipes is a Tomato Basil Soup recipe that I've had for a while now. I made it for my friends a couple weeks ago, and it was perfect with some bread that one of my friends brought. Ingredients: 3 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tablespoons of olive oil 2-14oz cans of crushed tomatoes 1-14oz can of whole tomato's 2 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable) 1 tsp of sea salt 1 tsp of sugar 1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper 1/4 cup of heavy cream 3 tablespoons of fresh basil Parmesan cheese for the top. Directions: In a saucepan, saute the garlic and olive oil on medium heat for about 1 minute but be careful not to burn the garlic. Next, add the crushed tomato's, then the whole tomatoes one at a time, squeezing them into the pan to break them up. Also add

Hope your having a good Wednesday! So Today I have a little bit of pinterest inspiration for you, I have also asked one of my sponsors Jessica of Seeking Individuality to join me in sharing some of the pins that have inspired her lately as well. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 1. Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes: these look so good, that I may have to make them for my next Monday night dinner with my friends.  2. Five ways to achieve consistent branding on your blog: this post has some great ideas on how to brand your blog and how to keep it consistent. It's one of my favorite blogging posts, be sure to check out Madisons blog for more posts like these.  3. Why Bloggers need to Support Other bloggers: this post is another one of my favorites, It has some great tips for creating community and reaching out to other bloggers. You can also check out my post on creating community through blogging.  4. Blog Business Cards: These are define

Today, I'm teaming up with Jenna of Dearest Love and nine other talented, beautiful bloggers to bring you a giveaway for the travel lover and the adventurous-hearted.  Traveling is fun, and it's something that I don't always get to do enough of. So today, One lucky reader will win a Fotostrap , a polka dotted leather "See the World" passport cover from Always Rooney , and a "Home is Where Your Feet Are" print from East West Design Co .  Dearest Love |   Oh Simple Thoughts | Wetherills Say I Do | The Quiet Place | The Sweet Surrender Lisa Loves John | Xo Kerry | Simply Love | Belle Brita | The Gift of Gab This giveaway is run via rafflecopter, and all entries will be verified. The winner must claim their prize within 48 hours of being emailed, or a new winner will be chosen. I'm so sorry international friends, but this giveaway is only open to those living in the US. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Hope you all had a good weekend! Here's another little recap of some my favorite links from last week and the posts on the blog.     FAVORITE LINKS: These thoughts on staying happy in singleness are so good!  Letter to my single self.  , so much truth in this letter, it's definetly a must read!  Homemade Focaccia Bread Recipe , I may have to attempt to make this.  How to Balance a Full Time Job and Blogging , so many good tips in this post!  Seven Resources for Tracking Your Social Media Presence , I didn't know about a lot of these resources i will definetly be checking them out!  This girl just released a new book, how exciting!      WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED: Week in Review Recipe: Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Every Ounce of Grace   How was your weekend? 

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have our monthly contributor Victoria, she is sharing her heart on this month's theme Faithfulness. You can learn more about Victoria and her blog on the about page.  “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”   1 Corinthians 15:10 We all know what it looks like when faithfulness fails. We’ve felt the pain of failed marriages, broken families, and friendships that have come to an end. These failures to be faithful are difficult and yet they show us something. They show us our great need for the grace of God.  Each time something or someone proves unfaithful, we can be reminded that God never fails at faithfulness. Each time we are unfaithful, we can be reminded that God is never unfaithful. These reminders are opportunities to help us continue to lean on Him, depend on Him, and pr

Hope your having a good Wednesday, I can't believe it's almost Valentines day already. It seems like February is going by fast already. The other day I took these cookies to a weekly dinner I have with two of my close friends. We all loved them, and even got ice cream to have with them which made them even better! I really liked this recipe because it was different than what i normally make and I really liked how it had cranberries in it instead of using raisins which aren't my favorite. Anyway, I thought I would share them with you because I really want to start having more recipe's on the blog, so i thought this one would be the perfect start. Ingredients:  1 cup of unsalted butter (I used salted and they turned out just fine, so i think it's up to you)  1 cup of brown sugar 1 cup of regular sugar 1tbs of ground cinnamon 2 eggs 1/2 tbs of Vanilla 2 cups of flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp of baking powder 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1 1/

I hope you had a good weekend and I can't believe it's already Monday. Well I hope your weekends were restful and that your week get's off to a good start. So, here's a little recap of the week on the blog plus some favorite links of mine from last week. FAVORITE LINKS:   Valentines Day Recipe Roundup , Looking for some good recipes, look no further than this post!  Five Blog Trends From Last Year , Such a great list!  Tips for Hosting a Cookie Swap Party , This sounds so fun! Maybe an idea for a future girls night in!  Amanda Fair Designs Giveaway , I have two of her little makeup bags and I love them!  So, you should enter to win one.  Six Tips for Growing Your Blog With Twitter , such good tips for using twitter to grow your blog, i loved this post as well!  WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:  February Theme: Faithfulness Being Content Currently Vol. 7 Four Tips For Creating Community through Blogging How

1. Reach out to other bloggers:  this is an  essential when wanting to get into community. It can be as small as a comment on their blog, or an email. I have built relationships with other bloggers through email, commenting on their blogs, etc. For me it has been a beneficial thing, to create community in something that I really didn't know there was any.   This is a great post on why bloggers need community.  2. Join a blog group on Facebook, or some other social media group: I have joined the Peony Project on facebook which is a group for other christian bloggers. It's a great group and i would definitely recommend it!  3. Make meaningful comments: when I say meaningful comments I don't mean that you have to write a novel, but at least engage with the post somehow. Check out Madison's post on how to comment on blogs to find out more.  4. Plan a blogger Meetup : If you there

HEARTING:  The new cookbooks and baking books i got for Christmas this year. I made chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting out  of Homemade Decadence by Joy the baker and they were so good!  READING: Catching up on some of my favorite blogs: Oh Simple Thoughts , Wetherills say I Do , and Dearest Love . Also reading the She Reads Truth Esther study.  PINNING: I pinned these cranberry white chocolate oatmeal cookies and i can't wait to make them this weekend! So there may be a recipe on the blog next week!  EATING: I made tomatoe basil soup for my friends and I the other night. It was so good and they loved it as well, which was a plus.  I just finished it yesterday.  ANTICIPATING: Going home for spring break in March, it will be nice to be home for a week. And maybe Valentines day cause it will be an excuse to eat chocolate.  LiINKING UP WITH: Jenna and Anne for their currently linkup

Content, As christian women we here that word more times than we can count, especially in a season of waiting. Content is defined as,   pleased and satisfied : not needing more.  Have you been in a season in your life where your feel like you are just waiting? Waiting for a new job, waiting for things to get better, waiting for marriage, etc. Whatever you are waiting for, sometimes it just seems like it's taking forever just like a long line at the grocery store.  When I think about being content, my thoughts instantly go to being content in my singleness. How many times have we heard the cliche lines like "just wait, God's got it" said by well meaning people, only to make you feel worse. There was a time in my life where it was so hard to hear all of those lines without just wanting to cry, because like I said it made me feel worse rather than better.  That is when I would get discontent in waiting,  sometimes I feel like i am in this never-endin

Happy Groundhogs Day!!! Today I am excited to announce to you that this month's theme is faithfulness.  This month we will be taking a look at what faithfulness is, what it means to be faithful, God's faithfulness, and faithful people in the Bible.  Join us this month as we seek Christ to learn more about faithfulness. If you would like to be a writer this month, send a submission to hillary.thequietplace@gmail.com.