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Lauren Gaskill

Encouraging women to live in faith and joy

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a note from lauren

Welcome, dear friend! Whether we’ve known each other for years or are just meeting today, I am so glad you are here. Here’s one thing you need to know about me: My passion is to see Body of Christ to step into their kingdom identity and authority. And my heart is helping others encounter Jesus in a way that refreshes their faith and fills them to overflowing with His love and joy. Together we can push back the dark and shine bright in this world as we rely on the joy of the Lord to be our strength!

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Peach Cobbler Muffins

March 20, 2013 • 2 Comments

I love cookbooks. Maybe someday I will have one of my own, but until then, I really admire those that have already been published. I can only imagine how much work goes into compiling one!

Peach Cobbler Muffins | Making Life Sweet with Lauren Hardy

My good friend, Kelsey, gave me the Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook for my 20th birthday. Ever since, I’ve tried to make at least one recipe from the book every month. For March, I let my dad pick while I was home on spring break.

It’s not even close to being summer, but I wasn’t surprised when he picked these Peach Cobbler Muffins. I mean, who doesn’t like peaches?

Peach Cobbler Muffins | Making Life Sweet with Lauren Hardy

Unless, of course, you don’t. Which in that case, you can probably substitute another kind of fruit for the peaches.Read More

Maple Flax Granola

February 27, 2013 • 1 Comment

Granola is one of those things that I like to have on hand 24/7.

Maple Flax Granola | Making Life Sweet with Lauren Hardy

You can eat it plain, use it in baked desserts (like fruit crisps), or sprinkle it over yogurt, ice cream, pancakes, baked breads or even salads!

I use it for all of the above, which is why I go through so much. It rides shotgun in my grocery cart nearly every week. And yet, as delightful as Bear Naked’s Maple Pecan granola is, I’ve finally grown tired of forking over $4 each time I need another small bag of it. Because c’mon people, it’s basically a simple mixture of baked oats, honey, oils and a bunch of spices. You can buy 15 cups of rolled oats for less than $4 … it just doesn’t add up!

Maple Flax Granola | Making Life Sweet with Lauren Hardy

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Pressing On: What It Means to Persevere

February 20, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Perseverance. In elementary school, my teachers gave out monthly certificates to honor students who they felt represented certain characteristics. February was always “perseverance month,” because, although we were hardly more than halfway through the school year, summer was already on our minds. This was when learning became a little more strenuous and a lot less interesting.

In fourth grade, I received the perseverance certificate. I thought it was a huge achievement. But only now do I realized how naive I was to to think my nine-year-old self deserved such recognition, when my journey had only just begun.

running the race perserverance
Photo | Charlie Llewellin, Creative Commons

Last Sunday, our church hosted a women’s dessert outreach. While sharing sweet treats in community was nice, it was more than just the pecan pie bars and lemon meringue bites that made Sunday afternoon special. I was humbled to listen to the stories of other women of faith, whom I crossed paths with every week but never knew more than a name.

As we went around the table sharing prayer requests, I was amazed by the scope of suffering and doubt that remained a common thread among us. Though we represented about three generations of believers, it became clear to me that our need for prayer, reassurance and affirmation doesn’t disappear with age. Our need to press on doesn’t get easier with time.Read More

Peanut Butter Brownies

February 18, 2013 • 2 Comments

Last week, I promised the kids I nanny for that we would make brownies for Valentine’s Day.

Peanut Butter Brownies | MakingLifeSweet.com

We made the traditional kind, which of course were delicious. But when it came time for me to make a dessert for the women’s dessert outreach our church is having this Sunday, I wanted to do something different.

I’m not sure if I forget that I have peanut butter when I go to the store, but somehow I ended up with three jars of it in my pantry. Knowing I had plenty to use, I thought about making a peanut butter pie, but the memory of the brownies I’d had earlier in the week slipped back into my mind. So I started thinking about how I could combine the two ingredients.Read More

The Love I Never Knew Could Exist

January 28, 2013 • 2 Comments

I let go of the mic stand and lift my arms up to reach for Him, to breathe Him in.

The stage lights pierce my vision, but I don’t mind. All I’m thinking about is this moment. I want to bottle it up and carry it with me everywhere I go.

Photo | Wikimedia Commons. Source: ICF Berlin
Photo | Wikimedia Commons. Source: ICF Berlin

The crowd sings in beautiful harmony, only adding to my joy. This is what it means to be loved, to belong, I think to myself.

I’ve experienced love in many forms during my 20 years of life. There is the love of a friend, sister, family members, mentors, teammates, and the more obvious, boyfriend. These relationships run from shallow to deep, in that no love is felt in the same fashion. The way I love Alex is incomparable to the way I love my sister. That doesn’t make one love better than the other, it’s just a different feeling.

Similarly, an “I love you” valentine from the fifth grade shows little resemblance to the “I love you,” verbal confirmation I get from Alex every day.

But no love I’ve experienced could have ever prepared me for the love I’ve received in Christ.

You may have heard the song “Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin. Although I like to avoid cliche, I can’t think of a better word to convey the way God’s love felt as I sang on our church’s stage yesterday. It’s the joy I feel when I wake up every morning. It’s a love I never knew could exist, never thought I could experience.

God’s love surpasses our circumstances. It doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t ask us for anything in return. There is nothing we can do to earn it. It just is.

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Crock-Pot White Chicken Chili

January 23, 2013 • 1 Comment

I have exciting news for you today.

Crock-Pot White Chicken Chili | "Making Life Sweet" with Lauren Hardy

1) The weather for the rest of the week is forecasted to be warmer than yesterday!

2) I am now a contributor for Honest Cooking Magazine. This recipe was also featured on their website today.

If you love food, and you like learning and reading about all things epicurean, I suggest you go download their free iPad magazine. Right. Now.

I know soup can’t make this cold weather go away, but it can certainly warm the body and soothe the mind. This White Chicken Chili is no exception. Did I mention you can just throw everything in the Crock-Pot and walk away?

After sorting through recipe after recipe online, I wanted something less time consuming … With this semester requiring me to be on campus for 12 hours straight on many days, I don’t have time to stand over a stove and stir my soup. This recipe needed to be made easier. So I rewrote my own!

The texture of the shredded chicken is arguably the softest and juiciest I’ve ever cooked.

Now that your “I don’t have time to cook anything” excuse has been put to shame, it’s time to get to work and warm up with White Chicken Chili!

Crock-Pot White Chicken Chili | "Making Life Sweet" with Lauren Hardy

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Hi, dear friend! I'm so glad you're here. And though I wish we could be meeting face-to-face over coffee, I'm grateful for the chance to know you here. The community here inspires me, and I hope you feel like you belong while you're here. If you'd like to connect with me, please follow me on social media. I want to hear from you, so please reach out! And don't forget to sign up for my newsletter — you'll get access to special content and freebies.

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Freezing some of these beauties @salesforce and @a Freezing some of these beauties @salesforce and @appexchange were so kind to give us so we can continue to enjoy them even after Baby G has arrived. I don’t talk about it much on here, but when God told me that @shefoundjoy would not be touring for awhile, I knew I’d need to find something more than the part-time work I’d previously been doing in addition to ministry.

That’s when a dear friend from college reached out to see if I’d be interested in something with Salesforce. My husband and I prayed about it and felt like God gave us the green light. So I went for it, and God provided big time. Initially, it was just supposed to be a part-time thing, but after a month, I was offered to come on as a full-time contractor. I can honestly say I never saw this job coming ... I never saw myself enjoying a role I never knew existed let alone enjoying work outside of ministry. But nearly one year into working with my team, my heart is full of gratitude that God led me in this direction for this season He has us in. I know I’ll be doing traveling ministry again someday, but in the meantime, I’m content with where God has me. And that’s a beautiful thing.

I share all of this to say, don’t turn down a potential opportunity from the Lord just because it doesn’t line up with what you thought it would look like. Provision and blessing often come in unexpected ways. God might ask you to take a job you think is completely unrelated to what you feel like He has called you to do. Don’t try to analyze it. Just listen for His voice, follow His leading, and obey what He tells you to do. You never know what He has in store ...
I have tried to be cognizant of how many pregnancy I have tried to be cognizant of how many pregnancy pictures I’ve posted during this season of our lives, as I know that it can be a sensitive subject for so many. Sometimes, I think it’s easy for us to look at someone’s seemingly perfect Instagram feed and feel like we’ve missed the boat or aren’t as blessed as they are. 

What I want to say about this is that we all need to start considering the bigger story of each one of our lives. We need to remember that no one’s life is 100 percent perfect all of the time. Trials are real. Warfare is real. Heartache is real. But so is hope. So is healing and restoration. And so is the testimony of Jesus. 

I remember when I was really sick, I didn’t want to hear testimonies of how people had been healed. It hurt my heart too much, because part of me believed I had somehow missed the boat. But then God woke me up and changed my heart. Even when things didn’t change in the natural, I started to celebrate breakthrough in other people’s lives and expect it for my own life. Because if God could do it for someone else, certainly He could and would do it for me. 

I share all of this to say, when we read about someone’s testimony or good news, we need to consider what might have led up to that good news being able to be shared. Consider that they, too, just like you, most likely have been through the fire a time or two. Consider all of the tears, prayers, or sleepless nights that may have preceded the testimony they are now able to share. And then celebrate. Celebrate the God who broke through for them and will break through for you. 

Rejoice, beloved. No matter what you’ve been through, there is wonderful joy ahead.
A few weeks ago, I felt the Lord nudging me to rec A few weeks ago, I felt the Lord nudging me to record a variety of journal entries, Bible verses, and prophetic words to play in my ear during labor (and the weeks leading up to it). As I listened to the recording this morning, two phrases stuck out to me the most: “determine to trust in His faithfulness,” and, “let go, surrender, and trust.”

I don’t know about you, but speaking those two phrases out loud just brings such faith, hope, and peace to my heart. 

Reminder: Even when man is faithless, God remains faithful. Determine to trust in His faithfulness today. You are not forgotten. You are seen and loved. And there is not a moment that He leaves your side. 

Let go, surrender, and trust that He will do exactly what the Promise Keeper has said He would do in your life. (Photo: @midwest_jess_)
Savoring all of the snuggles with this one before Savoring all of the snuggles with this one before his brother arrives. Reese has been our one and only fur baby for the past five-and-a-half years and while I know a significant chapter is closing, I am more excited for the one that is about to unfold. Love is about to be multiplied exponentially in our home and in our hearts. And I’m making room. 💜💛❤️💙🧡
In this season, God has been teaching me so much a In this season, God has been teaching me so much about the inheritance we have in Christ.

Do you know what is included in your inheritance in Christ? A shortlist from my time with the Lord pulled these keys words out: wholeness of body, soul, and spirit, healing, grace upon grace, redemption and forgiveness of sins, peace, love, joy, good gifts, freedom, righteousness, the Holy Spirit, a heavenly reward, blessings that overtake us, protection, deliverance, power and authority.

And on and on and on. But how do we receive and love in the reality of this inheritance? Read my latest blog for a few thoughts by clicking on the link in my profile. 🥰
A few months ago, I dreamed that the Father gave m A few months ago, I dreamed that the Father gave me a bracelet. 

As He held it out in front of me, I took a moment to behold the beauty of this priceless gift. And that’s when I noticed: This was no ordinary bracelet. Not only did one of the chains feature a glistening diamond, but both of the bracelet’s bands were interlocked by a golden connector that said “WORTHY” on it. And so, though the bands were two separate entities, the two became one because of this little connector.

The Father placed the bracelet in my hands and said, “my beloved, it’s yours.” And then I woke up. 

{Read the rest of my newest post: “God Has Made You Worthy to Receive a Glorious Inheritance” by clicking on the link in my profile, then “My Blog.”}
If creation sings Your praises so will I ... As I If creation sings Your praises so will I ... As I took a minute to sing to the Lord this morning, I thought about this picture my sister shared last month from @north. These polar stratospheric clouds in Iceland declare the faithfulness and promises of God unlike any painted sky I’ve ever seen.

If creation speaks of His goodness and greatness, how much more should we? Oh Father, may we be overcome with a desire to sing praise to Your Name for all You are, all You’ve done, and all You will do.
As Baby G’s due date draws near, this is how I w As Baby G’s due date draws near, this is how I want to remember this pregnancy and season of life. I want to remember that no matter the challenges I faced, I was embraced and cherished by the man and the God I love. I want to remember the countless ways God showed Himself faithful and reminded us of the promises He had made to us with a radical display of our own “rainbow signs.” I want to remember the way I surrendered to His perfect love and trusted in Him like never before.

Through faith and patience, we inherit His promises. This is what I know to be true and what I know I will continue to experience to be true. In every season, He is faithful. He is unchanging. In every season, He longs for us to encounter His loving embrace. This is what I want to remember most. Not just for this season but every season moving forward. Because His love is better than life. 

A lot has happened in the past year, and the new year is still unfolding, but my prayer for all of us here is more than the chaos, we would remember the Love that surrounds, steadies, strengthens and fills us. With His power, Word and love, we overcome. 💜🌈🥰
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