How to Deal With Grief:

Recovery does not mean all your problems go away. Recovery means you have better problems. Learning to appreciate life's profound intricacies and heartaches of death and love as I travel through France and heal from an eating disorder. These are recommendations and resources I have found that I pray bring hope to you too.

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Jenni Johnson
Love is a Choice

The absence of traditional religious elements made me ponder the true meaning of love and challenging my beliefs from my True Love Waits upbringing. I share my insights on human connection, trust, and the freedom to choose love outside of the American Church.

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Jenni Johnson
The Meaning of Matcha

From their collection of wine and Asian condiments to their own fermented vegetables, a restaurant I stumbled upon in Paris exceeded my expectations. The kindness of the shop manager & the delightful matcha cake he shared brightened my day, filling the void of loneliness in a foreign country. Discover how food and the company of others can create a sense of belonging, even when far away from home.

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Best Cookie in France

In search of the perfect chocolate chip cookie during my travels across France and the world, I discovered a delightful blend of flavors in a small bakery that brought a nostalgic comfort reminiscent of my grandmother's kitchen. My quest for familiar tastes failed to fill the ache of longing, it taught me a valuable lesson about cultivating our own sense of home through myself in Paris and beyond.

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Jenni Johnson
Jesus and My Body

I wonder why starved something for so long I claimed someone already died for

and why I have been taught to not trust my body

know

my body

feel

my body

as woman on this side of eternity

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Jenni Johnson
Un-Learning My Religion

And I hate to be so critical of my own religion, but the system that rejected me structurally taught me to reject others too. As a woman, it was always an inconvenience to want to be involved with doctrine. The little me who was cast as a wise man in the Christmas Nativity Scene still feels too loud and too curious for my gender in the Christian status quo.

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Jenni Johnson
Women and Money

Will it ever get easier? The relationship between women and their money? And whose money is it to begin with? I think about the dear reality that my Father is a banker. That I had nothing to do with that. That he opened a savings account for me from a very young age and has monitored what I earn and what I spend from adolescence on. The majority of myself is grateful for this, for I have acute awareness that not all children were provided financial means or guidance.I think about the man who helped me open a French bank account today. That I had everything to do with that.That the creating of a reciprocal, close relationship with another person was fully in my control. And his assistance in translating with a foreign banker to transport money I earned elsewhere to use it how I wish is something I’m grateful for.It’s a complex situation, so why did it feel so vain?

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Jenni Johnsonculture, women
Hidden Secrets of Paris

Meet the mastermind behind the podcast the Earful Tower: Oliver Gee is an Australian living Paris since 2015 and runs one of the biggest travel pods in the world. Consider him the Indiana Jones of Paris, discovering hidden secrets, culture and history. 🙂

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Jenni Johnson
French Bread and American Women

I’m exploring American diet culture and how the French create the most basic and intricate product this earth to offer with just 4 ingredients (according to Le Décret Pain law (1993). What would it look like for all of us to give into the fermentation process rather than fight it? To chew instead of spit? To embrace instead of avoid? What does it take to create bread that feeds not only our bodies?

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Jenni Johnsonfood, culture
The Taylor Swift Effect

I am not blaming Taylor Swift for my eating disorder. I do not know Taylor Swift. I only have felt known by her. I am blaming my eating disorder on satan himself and his minion called screwtape whose many forms perch in places such as: Hollywood pictures, the patriarchy and the inherent facade that validation equates love. Which in my opinion are all synonymous.

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Rebuilding Athens

I was in Athens, Greece with someone who knew much more about a lot of things in life than I did. As we were strolling in the July heat towards the Central meat market, he noted that most of the buildings in the city were never torn down; just painted over, plastered on top of. Beyond the ancient ruins and historical sites, these streets lined with cobblestone were absolutely falling apart.

Government workers attempting to “fix” these withering structures weren’t doing much of anything other than trying to prove that they were.

A tenth coat of paint doesn’t help if the primer is a couple hundred years old

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Jenni Johnsontravel, culture, greece
Culture and Codependency

I was listening to some songs on my drive today from middle school. And as much as someone loves to deeply release their emotions through song, my mind couldn’t help but think: there’s no way these lyrics that have rung in my ears from such a young age could NOT have an effect on me.

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Jenni Johnson
Texas Food

BBQ , Tex-Mex, Homestyle, Buc-ees, I took some time to experience the foods of my home state Texas. Giving you my honest review of these 4 sectors of Texan food and culture through a new lens of recovery. Because we all know there’s no place like home.

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healingJenni Johnsonfood
Running in Normandie

All I ever wanted to be was smaller. Until smaller meant less speed; the one thing I started running for in the first place. Speed felt like freedom. When in fact, I abused it until it meant captivity. The perimeters of rules I created around my body met with the gratification of a shrinking waist line was intoxicating. Like the endorphins that pumped through my veins when running.

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