Faith, Family and Food

My BIG Announcement...

By now, most of you are aware that I have a profound passion for cooking, which I believe is inherent in my nature. From a young age, I developed a natural ability to cook and to intuitively combine sauces, ingredients, and seasonings without requiring detailed instructions.

This innate talent allows me to create dishes with complementary flavors effortlessly. I consider this skill either an inherent gift or one that must be learned through instruction and practice.

Now, I have a significant announcement to make. Many of you who follow me on social media and here at Cook it with Tim may not know that there are three core values that are paramount to me: Faith, Family, and Food.

While these values are listed sequentially, they are intrinsically interconnected in my life. In September 2022, my wife and I embarked on a new journey by launching Juniper Church and assuming pastoral roles. However, we have recently decided to conclude that chapter of our lives.

Juniper Worldwide

Ending that season was incredibly difficult, but change is a vital part of life. Another essential aspect of my wife's and my life is our dedication to serving those in need. 

In 2017, while working at a catering event and my daughter who was there because she was young and came to work with us often since we were the bosses haha. I noticed a surplus of food after a wedding buffet. We decided to load the leftover food into my car and distribute it to the homeless, setting up a makeshift buffet from the trunk of my vehicle, feeding 60 people albeit without forks due to an oversight on my part. 

This experience led to the formation of Juniper Worldwide, a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding those in need both locally and globally. Globally, we currently support the Autism Family Support Group in the Philippines, which we have visited twice. Locally, we support the less fortunate by serving over 100 meals to those in need on Fridays here in Knoxville, TN.

Throughout these endeavors, my life has been extremely busy, affecting my physical health. Despite maintaining a healthy diet, the imbalance in my schedule left me exhausted. The demands of my work and our commitment to Juniper Church made it challenging to manage my time effectively. Friends and colleagues often commented on my fatigued appearance.

After much reflection and guidance from respected leaders, we decided to close Juniper Church and concentrate on outreach and missions through our organization. My wife and I loved serving in this capacity and loving people as big as we possibly could. 

This decision allows me to focus on creating high-quality content for my followers without compromising my well-being. I love cooking and being in front of the camera and cooking for lots of people and obviously sharing it with as many people as possible. I really do love people a lot and that's why I simply got into the social media space in order to help people. 

Our Costa Rica Experience

Just a few days before we made that decision, we were invited to go to Costa Rica with my missionary hero's. I was able to speak in a church and also at a round table with leaders from Northern Costa Rica. We also played a part in being able to give out school supplies and back packs to 175 children. We met 7 kids who crossed the Nicaraguan / Costa Rica Border Monday to Friday just to go to school during the week. They would come from Nicaragua to learn! It broke my heart to find out all of them are orphans.  Who need our help..

Here, I am standing outside with a leader in the community who is trying to build a larger kitchen to serve the community. Wouldn't it be cool if I could help? And be able to partner up with them to get it built? Couldn't I travel to Costa Rica to help teach young people how to cook? These moments are what I'm all about!

Family, Faith and Food

My time will largely be focused on Faith, Family and Food and better serving you! 

Not to mention being able to be a granddad to two of the best grandbabies I could have asked for and spending time with my amazing wife. 

In the next blog, I aim to address questions from many of you. Please rate this blog or leave a comment with your questions, provided they are not too personal. We thank you all for your support!

Your Friend and Chef,

Tim Clowers